Mini- and microsatellite expansions: the recombination connection.
It is widely accepted that the large trinucleotide repeat expansions observed in many neurological diseases occur during replication. However, genetic recombination has emerged as a major source of instability for tandem repeats, including minisatellites, and recent studies raise the possibility that it may also be responsible for trinucleotide repeat expansions. We will review data connecting tandem repeat rearrangements and recombination in humans and in eukaryotic model organisms, and discuss the possible role of recombination in trinucleotide repeat expansions in human neurological disorders.
Unité de Génétique Moléculaire des Levures, URA 2171 CNRS, Paris, France. gfrichar@pasteur.fr
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Richard
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Pâques
D000818:Animals; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics*; D004260:DNA Repair; D005785:Gene Conversion; D006801:Humans; D008540:Meiosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D018598:Minisatellite Repeats; D008957:Models, Genetic; D011995:Recombination, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D020080:Tandem Repeat Sequences / Q000235:genetics*; D019680:Trinucleotide Repeat Expansion
D004247:DNA