genetic recombination

Genetic recombination is the process by which a strand of DNA is broken and then joined to the end of a different DNA molecule. In eukaryotes recombination commonly occurs during meiosis as chromosomal crossover between paired chromosomes. This process leads to offspring having different combinations of genes from their parents and can produce new chimeric alleles. In evolutionary biology this shuffling of genes is thought to have many advantages, including that of allowing sexually reproducing organisms to avoid Muller's ratchet. However, a recombination pathway in DNA is any way by which a broken DNA molecule is reconnected to form a whole DNA strand.
See more at Wikipedia.org...