# Mechanism of Dmc1-mediated Meiotic Recombination in Budding Yeast

> **NIH NIH R35** · UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO · 2020 · $273,777

## Abstract

Homologous recombination plays a critical role in reductional segregation of chromosomes in
meiosis. Meiotic recombination is initiated by the programmed induction of DNA double strand
breaks (DSBs) and involves a mechanism related to recombinational repair of DSBs in mitotic
cells. Meiotic recombination is subject to unique regulatory processes that promote
recombination between homologous chromatids rather than sister chromatids and also regulate
the frequency of crossover type recombination events to ensure all homologous chromosome
pairs engage in at least one such event. The central step of recombination is homologous
strand invasion and exchange. Budding yeast and many other organisms including humans
have a specialized meiotic recombinase, Dmc1, that catalyzes the central step of meiotic
recombination which involves DNA sequence homology searching that culminates in DNA
strand exchange to form regions of hybrid DNA that connect recombining partners. A different
strand exchange protein, Rad51, catalyzes the central step of mitotic recombination. Dmc1 has
a unique set of meiosis-specific accessory proteins, but is also regulated by mitotic
recombination proteins, including the mitotic recombinase Rad51. Rad51 is converted from an
enzyme in mitosis into to a Dmc1 accessory protein during meiosis. Our group studies the
molecular mechanism through which Dmc1 promotes meiotic recombination. We seek to
understand how Dmc1’s activity is regulated by each of its accessory proteins. This goal is
achieved by combining a wide range of advanced experimental approaches. Of particular
importance is our group’s unique effort to biochemically reconstitute the recombination process
using purified components. To complement our biochemical studies, we were first to develop
the tools and methods required to study the architecture and dynamics of meiotic
recombinosomes using super-resolution light microscopy. Our group also employs molecular
genetic techniques that allow detection of broken and branched DNA recombination
intermediates, as well as the protein-protein interactions that occur during the recombination
process. We seek to combine these approaches to uncover important mechanistic features of
the recombination process including the regulatory mechanisms that control it.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9851690
- **Project number:** 1R35GM134942-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
- **Principal Investigator:** DOUGLAS K BISHOP
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $273,777
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-02-01 → 2025-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9851690

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9851690, Mechanism of Dmc1-mediated Meiotic Recombination in Budding Yeast (1R35GM134942-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9851690. Licensed CC0.

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