section_path: Evolution of sex/Adaptive function of sex
section_name: Adaptive function of sex
paragraph_text: Adaptive function of sex
  
  The most basic role of meiosis appears to be conservation of the integrity of the genome that is passed on to progeny by parents. The two most fundamental aspects of sexual reproduction, meiotic recombination and outcrossing, are likely maintained respectively by the adaptive advantages of recombinational repair of genomic DNA damage and genetic complementation which masks the expression of deleterious recessive mutations. Genetic variation, often produced as a byproduct of these processes, may provide long-term advantages in those sexual lineages that favor outcrossing.