The many faces of mismatch repair in meiosis

Mutat Res. 2000 Jun 30;451(1-2):129-50. doi: 10.1016/s0027-5107(00)00044-0.

Abstract

Mismatches, and the proteins that repair them, play multiple roles during meiosis from generating the diversity upon which selection acts to preventing the intermingling of diverged populations and species. The mechanisms by which the mismatch repair proteins accomplish these many roles include gene conversion, reciprocal crossing over, mismatch repair-induced recombination and anti-recombination. This review focuses on recent studies, predominantly in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, that have advanced our understanding of the details of mismatch repair complexes and how they apply to the diverse roles these proteins play in meiosis. These studies have also revealed unexpected and novel functions for some of the mismatch repair proteins.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Base Pair Mismatch
  • DNA Repair / physiology*
  • Gene Conversion
  • Germ Cells / physiology
  • Humans
  • Meiosis*
  • Nucleic Acid Heteroduplexes
  • Recombination, Genetic*

Substances

  • Nucleic Acid Heteroduplexes