Editor's Summary
13 July 2006
Controlling meiosis
Dmc1 (disrupted meiotic cDNA) protein was originally identified a decade ago in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae during a screen for mutations that cause a defect in meiosis. Until recently, despite extensive molecular genetic studies confirming a central role in meiosis, little was known about Dmc1 biochemistry. Matthew Neale and Scott Keeney review the latest research on the molecular steps of meiotic recombination, emphasizing Dmc1 and its accessory proteins. The control of DNA strand exchange during meiotic recombination is a complex process that is critical to sexual reproduction, and a combination of biochemical and genetics techniques is beginning to explain this aspect of chromosome behaviour.
Review: Clarifying the mechanics of DNA strand exchange in meiotic recombination
Matthew J. Neale and Scott Keeney
doi:10.1038/nature04885