Homologous recombinational repair proteins in mouse meiosis

Eukaryotic meiotic recombination requires numerous biochemical processes, including break initiation, end resection, strand invasion and heteroduplex formation, and, finally, crossover resolution. In this review, we discuss primarily those proteins involved in the initial stages of homologous recombination, including SPO11, MRE11, RAD50, NBS1, DMC1, RAD51, RAD51 paralogs, RAD52, RPA, RAD54, and RAD54B. Focusing on the mouse as a model organism, we discuss what is known about the conserved roles of these proteins in vertebrate somatic cells and in mammalian meiosis. We consider such information as gene expression in gonadal tissue, protein localization patterns on chromosomal cores in meiocyte nuclei, and information gleaned from mouse models.