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MOLECULAR BIOLOGY: New Year's Resolution--Resolving Resolvases
Lorraine S. Symington and William K. Holloman
During genetic recombination in meiosis and the repair of DNA strand breaks, DNA molecules become linked at crossover points known as Holliday junctions. A key step in recombination is the resolution of these structures, which requires a specific DNA endonuclease called a resolvase. The Holliday junction resolvase has been identified in bacteria but not in eukaryotic cells. In their Perspective, Symington and Holloman discuss exciting new work that identifies a component of the resolvase in mammalian cells, which turns out to be a well-known DNA repair protein called RAD51C.
L. S. Symington is in the Department of Microbiology and Institute of Cancer Research, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY 10032, USA. E-mail: lss5{at}columbia.edu W. K. Holloman is in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Hearst Microbiology Research Center, Cornell University Weill Medical College, New York, NY 10021, USA. E-mail: wkhollo{at}med.cornell.edu
