Link to Pubmed [PMID] – 21047263
Link to DOI – doi.org/10.1146/annurev-genet-102209-163602
Annu. Rev. Genet. 2010;44:393-417
The RecQ helicases are conserved from bacteria to humans and play a critical role in genome stability. In humans, loss of RecQ gene function is associated with cancer predisposition and/or premature aging. Recent experiments have shown that the RecQ helicases function during distinct steps during DNA repair; DNA end resection, displacement-loop (D-loop) processing, branch migration, and resolution of double Holliday junctions (dHJs). RecQ function in these different processing steps has important implications for its role in repair of double-strand breaks (DSBs) that occur during DNA replication and meiosis, as well as at specific genomic loci such as telomeres.