Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases

Genetic Recombination

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Genetic recombination (also known as genetic rearrangement) is the exchange of genetic material between different organisms, resulting in offspring with different trait combinations than the two parents. In eukaryotes, genetic recombination during meiosis may provide new genetic information that may be passed on from parents to offspring. Most recombination occur naturally.

Genetic recombination is central to DNA metabolism. It promotes sequence diversity and maintains the integrity of the genome of all organisms. However, it has a negative effect and can have a serious impact on the cell cycle. In bacteria that harbor ring chromosomes, recombination often results in undesirable consequences, leading to the formation of chromosomal dimers. Dimers are formed by homologous recombination between sister chromosomes and are ultimately degraded by the action of two site-specific recombinases, XerC and XerD, at the target site dif located at the replication end of the chromosome. Studies of the Xer system and the modality of dimer formation and lysis provided important insights into how both homologous and site-specific recombination are regulated and integrated into the cell cycle. .. Here we will briefly review these advances and focus on the important questions they raise.

Related Associations and Societies

Swedish Society for Microbiology, Australasian Microbiology Society, Brazilian Society of Microbiology, German Society of Hygiene and Microbiology, Italian Society for Microbiology, Spanish Society for Microbiology.