Features

Meiotic recombination generates genetic diversity and promotes proper chromosomal segregation of parental chromosomes. This process requires a set of recombinases polymerized on single-stranded (ss)DNAs called the nucleoprotein filament to undergo homology search and strand exchange between homologous DNAs. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae meiosis, programmed DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are formed by Spo11 to generate 3’-ssDNA tails. Once formed, ssDNA overhangs are rapidly bound by the abundant high-affinity ssDNA-binding protein, Replication protein A (RPA), to protect these ssDNAs from nucleolytic degradations or formation of the higher-order DNA structures. RPA-coated ssDNA substrates are…