Step 1: Understanding the Concept
Variation comes from mutation, gene flow, genetic drift and gene recombination.
Step 2: Compare
Mutations create new alleles but are rare.
Gene flow and genetic drift mainly change allele frequencies.
Step 3: Recombination
Crossing over, independent assortment and random fertilisation produce new gene combinations every generation, giving a large amount of variation.
Final Answer:
Most variation arises from gene recombination.
\[ \boxed{\text{(D) }\text{gene recombination}} \]