Disease relevance of rad-51

• The pachytene nuclei of ced-3 mutants, which are defective in apoptosis, are similarly resistant to ionizing radiation, but pachytene nuclei depleted for Ce-atl-1 (ataxia-telangiectasia like 1) or Ce-rdh-1/rad-51 are more sensitive [1].

High impact information on rad-51

• Unlike rad-51 mutants, Cebrc-2 mutants also accumulate RPA-1 at DSBs, and abnormal chromosome aggregates that arise during the meiotic prophase can be rescued by blocking the NHEJ pathway [2].
• CeBRC-2 also forms foci in response to DNA damage and can do so independently of rad-51 [2].
• Multiple genetic pathways involving the Caenorhabditis elegans Bloom's syndrome genes him-6, rad-51, and top-3 are needed to maintain genome stability in the germ line [3].
• These results reveal RAD-51-dependent and -independent functions of CeBRC-2 that provide an explanation for the difference in DNA repair defects observed in Cebrc-2 and rad-51 mutants, and define mechanistic roles for CeBRC-2 in HR and in the SSA pathway for DSB repair [4].
• Silencing of the rad-51 gene also causes a reduction in fecundity, which is suppressed by mutation in the DNA damage checkpoint gene rad-5, but not in the cell death effector gene ced-3 [5].

Biological context of rad-51

• If double-strand breaks are prevented by spo-11 mutation, rad-51 RNAi does not affect chromosome appearance [5].
• We have investigated the role of Caenorhabditis elegans RAD-51 during meiotic prophase and embryogenesis, making use of the silencing effect of RNA interference (RNAi). rad-51 RNAi leads to severe defects in chromosome morphology in diakinesis oocytes [5].
• Roles for Caenorhabditis elegans rad-51 in meiosis and in resistance to ionizing radiation during development [5].
• We showed that rad-51 mutant worms are viable, have no defects in meiotic homology recognition and synapsis but exhibit abnormal chromosomal morphology and univalent formation at diakinesis [6].
• We investigated the role of Caenorhabditis elegans rad-51 during meiotic prophase [6].

Other interactions of rad-51

• Moreover, it seems that exogenous DSBs in the Ce-chk-2 defective nuclei at the pachytene stage can be repaired between sister chromatids in a Ce-rdh-1/rad-51-dependent manner [7].

References