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Updated: Mar 8, 2026

Real-time Observation of the DNA Strand Exchange Reaction Mediated by Rad51
Published on: February 13, 2019
Moonlighting at replication forks - a new life for homologous recombination proteins BRCA1, BRCA2 and RAD51
Arun Mouli Kolinjivadi1, Vincenzo Sannino1, Anna de Antoni1
1DNA metabolism laboratory, IFOM-The Firc Institute of Molecular Oncology, Milan, Italy.
Abstract:
Coordination between DNA replication and DNA repair ensures maintenance of genome integrity, which is lost in cancer cells. Emerging evidence has linked homologous recombination (HR) proteins RAD51, BRCA1 and BRCA2 to the stability of nascent DNA. This function appears to be distinct from double-strand break (DSB) repair and is in part due to the prevention of MRE11-mediated degradation of nascent DNA at stalled forks. The role of RAD51 in fork protection resembles the activity described for its prokaryotic orthologue RecA, which prevents nuclease-mediated degradation of DNA and promotes replication fork restart in cells challenged by DNA-damaging agents. Here, we examine the mechanistic aspects of HR-mediated fork protection, addressing the crosstalk between HR and replication proteins.
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