What is mitotic recombination?

Mitotic recombination is a form of genetic recombination that occurs in both sexual and asexual organisms during the interphase stage of mitosis. Normally recessive cancer-causing genes and other lethal recessive genes may be expressed while biological cells are forming the body of a newly developing organism.

These cells may be predisposed to the development of cancer. The process may also inhibit cells that would normally suppress the formation of a tumor. Adverse mitotic recombination is most often initiated by DNA double strand breaks. It is believed that certain fragile sites are more prone to breakages and mitotic recombination than others.