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Biochemistry of eukaryotic homologous recombination

  • Chapter
Molecular Genetics of Recombination

Part of the book series: Topics in Current Genetics ((TCG,volume 17))

Abstract

The biochemistry of eukaryotic homologous recombination caught fire with the discovery that Rad51 is the eukaryotic homolog of the bacterial RecA and T4 UvsX proteins; and this field is still hot. The core reaction of homologous recombination, homology search and DNA strand invasion, along with the proteins catalyzing it, are conserved throughout evolution in principle. However, the increased complexity of eukaryotic genomes and the diversity of eukaryotic cell biology pose additional challenges to the recombination machinery. It is not surprising that this increase in complexity coincided with the evolution of new recombination proteins and novel support pathways, as well as changes in the properties of those eukaryotic recombination proteins that are evidently conserved in evolution. In humans, defects in homologous recombination lead to increased cancer predisposition, underlining the importance of this pathway for genomic stability and tumor suppression. This review will focus on the mechanisms of homologous recombination in eukaryotes as elucidated by the biochemical analysis of yeast and human proteins.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Microbiology and Section of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Center for Genetics and Development, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, 95616-8665, USA

    Wolf-Dietrich Heyer

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  1. Wolf-Dietrich Heyer
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  1. Centro Andaluz de Biologia Molecular y Medicina Regenerativa CABIMER, CSIC-Universidad de Sevilla, Av. Américo Vespucio s/n, 41092, Sevilla, Spain

    Andrés Aguilera

  2. Department of Genetics & Development, Columbia University Medical Center, 701 West 168th Street, HHSC 1608, New York, NY, 10032-2704, USA

    Rodney Rothstein

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Heyer, WD. (2007). Biochemistry of eukaryotic homologous recombination. In: Aguilera, A., Rothstein, R. (eds) Molecular Genetics of Recombination. Topics in Current Genetics, vol 17. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-71021-9_4

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