parasexual cycle


parasexual cycle

[¦par·ə′sek·shə·wəl ′sī·kəl] (genetics) A series of events leading to genetic recombination in vegetative or somatic cells even in mammals; it was first described in filamentous fungi; there are three essential steps: heterokaryosis; fusion of unlike haploid nuclei in the heterokaryon to yield heterozygous diploid nuclei; and recombination and segregation at mitosis by two independent processes, mitotic crossing-over and loss of chromosomes.