What is meant by ‘genetic recombination’?

Genetic recombination refers to the exchange of genetic material between different organisms, which can lead to new combinations of genes and increased genetic diversity within a population. This process is crucial in evolution and is commonly observed during sexual reproduction, where homologous chromosomes can exchange segments through a process known as crossing over.

In this context, genetic recombination enhances variability in traits, which can be advantageous for survival as environmental conditions change. This is distinct from other processes such as cloning, which involves creating identical copies of DNA, mutation, which is a change in a single gene, or DNA replication, which is the process of copying the entire DNA molecule in a cell to ensure each new cell has the same genetic information. These processes do not involve the combining of genetic material from different organisms in the way that genetic recombination does.