Initiation of genetic recombination: homologous pairing between duplex DNA molecules promoted by recA protein

recA protein has been shown to promote hydrogen bonding between single-stranded DNA fragments and duplex DNA molecules homologous to them. However, genetic and biochemical evidence indicates that genetic exchanges generally take place between duplex molecules. We therefore chose to study the interactions promoted by recA protein between intact duplex DNA molecules and molecules containing gaps that are believed to increase the frequency of genetic exchanges. In the present paper, we show that incubation of intact and gap-containing plasmid DNA in the presence of recA protein leads to homologous pairing between duplex molecules which can be detected by centrifugation analysis and electron microscopy. The reaction is completely dependent on an active recA gene product, on genetic homology between the DNA species involved, and on the presence of ATP; under certain conditions, its efficiency can be increased considerably by the presence of the single-stranded DNA binding protein of Escherichia coli.