Such recombination often results in dramatic chromosomal rearrangement, which is generally harmful to the organism.
[1] Some research, however, has suggested that ectopic recombination can result in mutated chromosomes that benefit the organism.
[6] The role of transposable elements in ectopic recombination is an area of active inquiry.
However, according to one proposed model, ectopic recombination might serve as an inhibitor of high transposable element copy numbers.
[7] Since ectopic recombination is generally deleterious, anything that increases its odds of occurring is selected against, including the aforementioned higher copy numbers and longer lengths.