The recombinases Rad51 and Dmc1 play distinct roles in DNA break repair and recombination partner choice in the meiosis of Tetrahymena.

ABSTRACT: Repair of programmed DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) by meiotic recombination relies on the generation of flanking 3' single-stranded DNA overhangs and their interaction with a homologous double-stranded DNA template. In various common model organisms, the ubiquitous strand exchange protein Rad51 and its meiosis-specific homologue Dmc1 have been implicated in the joint promotion of DNA-strand exchange at meiotic recombination sites. However, the division of labor between these two recombinases is still a puzzle. Using RNAi and gene-disruption experiments, we have studied their roles in meiotic recombination and chromosome pairing in the ciliated protist Tetrahymena as an evolutionarily distant meiotic model. Cytological and electrophoresis-based assays for DSBs revealed that, without Rad51

SUBMITTER: Howard-Till RA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3069121 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature