parasexual cycle
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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.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.