The hidden talents of SPO11.
Meiotic pairing involves a two-step process of DNA double-strand break (DSB)-independent chromosome alignment and precise sequence matching at DSBs. In this issue of Developmental Cell, Boateng et al. (2013) uncover a requirement in the alignment step for SPO11, a nuclease required for DSB formation, independent of its enzymatic activity.
Department of Chromosome Biology and Max F. Perutz Laboratories, Center for Molecular Biology, University of Vienna, A-1030 Vienna, Austria. josef.loidl@univie.ac.at
Josef
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Loidl