In evolutionary genetics, Muller's ratchet (named after American geneticist Hermann Joseph Muller, by analogy with a ratchet effect) is a process which, in the absence of recombination (especially in an asexual population), results in an accumulation of irreversible deleterious mutations. That happens because in the absence of recombination, and assuming reverse mutations are rare, offspring bear at least as much mutational load as their parents.
In evolutionary genetics, Muller's ratchet (named after American geneticist Hermann Joseph Muller, by analogy with a ratchet effect) is a process which, in the absence of recombination (especially in an asexual population), results in an accumulation of irreversible deleterious mutations. That happens because in the absence of recombination, and assuming reverse mutations are rare, offspring bear at least as much mutational load as their parents.
Source: Wikipedia "Muller's ratchet" · CC BY-SA 4.0
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