Nonfilament-forming RecA dimer catalyzes homologous joint formation.

ABSTRACT: Homologous recombination is essential to genome maintenance, and also to genome diversification. In virtually all organisms, homologous recombination depends on the RecA/Rad51-family recombinases, which catalyze ATP-dependent formation of homologous joints-critical intermediates in homologous recombination. RecA/Rad51 binds first to single-stranded (ss) DNA at a damaged site to form a spiral nucleoprotein filament, after which double-stranded (ds) DNA interacts with the filament to search for sequence homology and to form consecutive base pairs with ssDNA ('pairing'). How sequence homology is recognized and what exact role filament formation plays remain unknown. We addressed the question of whether filament formation is a prerequisite for homologous joint formation. To this end we constru

SUBMITTER: Shinohara T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6237804 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature