Cells have two main DNA repair pathways, homologous recombination and end-joining, that are thought to function at different stages of the cell cycle, but how the cell recognizes these stages and switches its predominant repair pathway is not well known. The protein CtIP is now shown to serve as a switch between these pathways through a specific phosphorylation that recruits the breast cancer susceptibility protein, BRCA1, which in turn directs the cell to use homologous recombination.
- Maximina H. Yun
- Kevin Hiom
