Barzel Adi, Kupiec Martin
Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv 69978, Israel.
Nat Rev Genet. 2008 Jan;9(1):27-37. doi: 10.1038/nrg2224.
Decades of research into homologous recombination have unravelled many of the details concerning the transfer of information between two homologous sequences. By contrast, the processes by which the interacting molecules initially colocalize are largely unknown. How can two homologous needles find each other in the genomic haystack? Is homologous pairing the result of a damage-induced homology search, or is it an enduring and general feature of the genomic architecture that facilitates homologous recombination whenever and wherever damage occurs? This Review presents the homologous-pairing enigma, delineates our current understanding of the process and offers guidelines for future research.
数十年来对同源重组的研究已经揭示了许多关于两个同源序列之间信息传递的细节。相比之下，相互作用的分子最初共定位的过程在很大程度上仍然未知。两条同源的“针”如何在基因组的“干草堆”中找到彼此？同源配对是损伤诱导的同源性搜索的结果，还是基因组结构的一种持久且普遍的特征，无论何时何地发生损伤都能促进同源重组？本综述提出了同源配对之谜，阐述了我们目前对该过程的理解，并为未来的研究提供了指导方针。
