InterPro domain: IPR003701

Mre11 and Rad50 are two proteins required for DNA repair and meiosis-specific double-strand break formation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Mre11 by itself has 3' to 5' exonuclease activity that is increased when Mre11 is in a complex with Rad50 [ 1 ].

These eukaryotic proteins contain one metallo-phosphoesterase domain followed by an Mre11 DNA-binding domain. S. cerevisiae Mre11 is required for DNA repair and meiosis-specificdouble-strand break (DSB) formation [ 2 ] and has both 3' to 5' exonuclease activity (whichincreases when in complex with Rad50) and endonuclease activity. The N-terminal phosphoesterase domain isrequired for DSB repair, and the carboxyl-terminal dsDNA-binding domain is essential during meiosis forchromatin modification and DSB formation [ 3 ]. Schizosaccharomyces pombe rad32 is required for repair of double strand breaks and recombination [ 4 ].

1. The 3' to 5' exonuclease activity of Mre 11 facilitates repair of DNA double-strand breaks. Mol. Cell 1, 969-79
2. Interaction of Mre11 and Rad50: two proteins required for DNA repair and meiosis-specific double-strand break formation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Genetics 139, 1521-32
3. Distinct roles of two separable in vitro activities of yeast Mre11 in mitotic and meiotic recombination. EMBO J. 17, 6412-25
4. Cloning and characterisation of the Schizosaccharomyces pombe rad32 gene: a gene required for repair of double strand breaks and recombination. Nucleic Acids Res. 23, 383-8