The XRCC2 DNA repair gene from human and mouse encodes a novel member of the recA/RAD51 family.

摘要

Complementary DNA for the mouse and human XRCC2 DNA repair gene was cloned from DNA libraries, and found to be a highly conserved new member of the recA/RAD51 recombination repair gene family. The cDNA significantly complemented the phenotype of a unique cell line, irs1, which showed extreme sensitivity to DNA cross-linking agents and genetic instability. This phenotype was consistent with a role for the XRCC2 gene in recombination repair in somatic cells, suggesting that in addition to RAD51, other members of this gene family have an important function in high fidelity repair processes in mammals. Despite this function, the XRCC2 gene transcript was expressed at a very low level in somatic tissue, but was increased in mouse testis, suggesting anadditional role in meiosis.