title: Molecular mechanisms of exon shuffling: illegitimate recombination.
abstract: Illegitimate recombination (IR) is a process that takes place far more often than homologous recombination and is characterized by the recombination between non-homologous or short homologous sequences. The consequences of IR frequently emerge after the introduction of DNA in cell lines because it more frequently integrates in non-homologous than in homologous regions of the host genome. As a result, unexpected truncated or elongated products may be found. By not discarding those products as transfection artifacts, but by studying how they are generated, it might elucidate a possible molecular mechanism of IR. Here we review the current literature describing different mechanisms by which non-homologous DNA recombination can be induced.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Genetics, University Medical Center Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Anke
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: van Rijk
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bloemendal
mesh_terms: D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005091:Exons; D020440:Gene Duplication; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D014162:Transfection