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Updated: Jul 19, 2026

Two- and Three-Dimensional Live Cell Imaging of DNA Damage Response Proteins
Published on: September 28, 2012
Rad51-deficient vertebrate cells accumulate chromosomal breaks prior to cell death
E Sonoda1, M S Sasaki, J M Buerstedde
1Bayer Chair, Department of Molecular Immunology and Allergology, Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University, Japan.
Abstract:
Yeast rad51 mutants are viable, but extremely sensitive to gamma-rays due to defective repair of double-strand breaks. In contrast, disruption of the murine RAD51 homologue is lethal, indicating an essential role of Rad51 in vertebrate cells. We generated clones of the chicken B lymphocyte line DT40 carrying a human RAD51 transgene under the control of a repressible promoter and subsequently disrupted the endogenous RAD51 loci. Upon inhibition of the RAD51 transgene, Rad51- cells accumulated in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle before dying. Chromosome analysis revealed that most metaphase-arrested Rad51- cells carried isochromatid-type breaks. In conclusion, Rad51 fulfils an essential role in the repair of spontaneously occurring chromosome breaks in proliferating cells of higher eukaryotes.
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