Parasexual recombination in fungi

Parasexual recombination is a valuable tool in the laboratory, particularly for asexual fungi, and a number of developments in methodology are outlined. In biotechnology, the parasexual cycle has proved less useful than at one time predicted, but it retains a function in analysis of the products of genetic manipulation, and as a convenient detection system for environmental chemicals that may disturb mitosis. In nature, recent evidence suggests that parasexual recombination is rare, in part at least because of the prevalence of heterokaryon incompatibility of many wild fungi.