INVERSIONS WITH DELETIONS AND DUPLICATIONS

Complex mutational events, including de novo inversion with deletion a nd duplication of sequence, have been observed but are difficult to mo del. We propose that nascent leading-strand misalignment upon the lagg ing-strand template during DNA replication can result in the inversion of sequence. The positioning of this misalignment and of the realignm ent of the leading strand back onto the leading-strand template will d etermine if the inversion is accompanied by deletion and duplication o f sequence. We suggest that such strand misalignment-realignment event s may occur at the replication fork during concurrent DNA replication.