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Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 15, 1241–1242 (1 December 2008) | doi:10.1038/nsmb1208-1241

When loose ends finally meet

Michael S Y Huen & Junjie Chen

Faithful transmission of the genetic material requires the concerted action of two principal DNA repair pathways: homology-directed repair and nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ). Whereas a significant length of sequence homology is required for error-free homology-directed repair, NHEJ can proceed with little or no sequence homology and, if not appropriately regulated, can lead to chromosome rearrangements, including translocations.