BRCA2: breaks, mistakes and failed separations

BRCA2 was identified in 1995, one year after BRCA1. In terms of knowledge of the function of its product, BRCA2 has remained the less well-characterised gene. Both BRCA1 and BRCA2 are closely implicated in the repair of double-strand breaks in DNA by homologous recombination, but beyond that a function for BRCA2 has been hard to discern. A recent study has extended the function of BRCA2 to the regulation of cell cleavage and separation. Other groups have also shown how BRCA2, RAD51 and DSS1 co-exist in a ménage à trois and how the disruption of any one of the three cohabitants can have disastrous consequences for the cell.