Chandramouly et al. discover that human Polλ exhibits robust microhomology-mediated end-joining (MMEJ) activity like PolΦ. Polλ promotes MMEJ in mammalian cells independently of essential nonhomologous end-joining factors LIG4/XRCC4 and Polq, which indicates a distinct Polλ-dependent MMEJ mechanism.
- Gurushankar Chandramouly
- Joonas Jamsen
- Richard T. Pomerantz