Rocco V et al. (1996) Worm Breeder's Gazette "Cloning of the Rad51 gene in C. elegans"

Ederle S, La Volpe A, Valenzi M, Rocco V, De Martino A

[Worm Breeder's Gazette, 1996]

We are interested in the mechanisms of homologous recombination in the nematode C. elegans. In prokaryotes, the RecA protein has a pivotal role in homologous recombination, and in vitro it has been demonstrated to catalyse the transfer of a DNA strand on a homologous molecule. In different eukaryotes (as yeast, mouse, man, and others) structural homologues of the bacterial RecA protein have been found, suggesting a certain level of conservation in some recombination pathways among living organisms (Shinohara et al. 1993 Cell 4: 239). In yeast an ATP- dependent DNA binding activity and, more recently, a strand transfer activity of the Rad51 gene product have been shown, whereas for the other Rad51 homologues the strand transfer activity has not yet been demonstrated (Sung and Robberson 1995 Cell 82). Experimental evidences in yeast (Milne and Weaver 1993 Genes Dev. 7:1755) suggest that the Rad51 product acts in a multiprotein complex in eukaryotes.