A biweekly scientific journal publishing high-quality research in molecular biology and genetics, cancer biology, biochemistry, and related fields

Cell Death Discovery - Replication stress primes a trophectoderm fate in embryonic stem cells

Replicative single-stranded DNA gaps are emerging as central intermediates in the cellular response to replication stress. Replication frequently cont…

Replicative single-stranded DNA gaps arise when DNA synthesis proceeds past lesions or difficult-to-replicate regions. This review delineates the pathways that generate, stabilize, and process these i...

Cell Death & Disease - Targeting the FNIP2-SERCA2b axis improves metabolic and mitochondrial defects in Ataxia Telangiectasia

High-fidelity DNA replication is constantly challenged by a diverse range of obstacles, including endogenous lesions and secondary structures in the DNA template, tightly bound protein-DNA complexes, ...

View details and apply for this Scientific Officer - Target Validation and DNA Damage Response Group (Prof Andrew Tutt) vacancy in Chelsea . Salary : Commencement on the salary range is s...

Homologous Recombination (HR) preserves genomic stability by repairing double-strand DNA breaks and ensuring efficient DNA replication. Central to HR is the strand-exchange reaction taking place within the three-stranded synapsis wherein a RAD51 nucleoprotein filament binds to a donor DNA. Here we present the cryoEM structure of a displacement loop of human RAD51 that captures the synaptic state when the filament has become tightly bound to the donor DNA. The structure elucidates the mechanism of strand exchange by RAD51, including the filament engagement with the donor DNA, the strand invasion and pairing with the complementary sequence of the donor DNA, the capture of the non-complementary strand and the polarity of the strand-exchange reaction. Our findings provide fundamental mechanistic insights into the biochemical reaction of eukaryotic HR. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.

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Genome replication in eukaryotic cells is surveyed by the S-phase checkpoint, which orchestrates sequential replication origin activation to avoid exhaustion of hitherto poorly defined rate-limiting r...

Graham et al. demonstrate that BRCA2 and PALB2 protect centromere integrity in non-cancerous cells through distinct mechanisms, partly counteracting the mismatch repair factor MLH1. In cancer cells, B...

Join us at the Keystone Symposia on DNA Replication Gaps, Cancer and Disease, April 2025, in Daejeon, with field leaders!

Nature Cancer - Whalen et al. report that increased DNA end resection in BRCA-deficient, PARP inhibitor-resistant cancers leads to increased sensitivity to DNA nicks, limiting tumor formation in...

Join us at the Keystone Symposia on DNA Replication Gaps, Cancer and Disease, April 2025, in Daejeon, with field leaders!

Maintaining genome integrity is an essential and challenging process. RAD51 recombinase, the central player of several crucial processes in repairing DNA and protecting genome integrity, forms filamen...

Join us at the Keystone Symposia on DNA Replication Gaps, Cancer and Disease, April 2025, in Daejeon, with field leaders!

Hanthi et al. found that RAD51 recognizes and binds to abasic sites. Together with BRCA2, RAD51 prevents the accumulation of abasic site-induced replicative DNA gaps (caused by DNA methylation, oxidat...