Rad51/RecA filament formation is key to homologous recombination. Here the authors combine structural studies with analyses in yeast to show that an 85-residue segment of Rad52 acts as a chaperone that binds Rad51 monomers promoting nucleation on ssDNA and counteracting the Srs2 translocase.
- Emilie Ma
- Fadma Lakhal
- Eric Coïc