DMC1 (gene)

DMC1 (gene)

Meiotic recombination protein Dmc1 is a homolog of the bacterial strand exchange protein RecA. Dmc1 plays the central role in homologous recombination in meiosis by assembling at the sites of programmed DNA double strand breaks and carrying out a search for allelic DNA sequences located on homologous chromatids. The name "Dmc" stands for "disrupted meiotic cDNA" and refers to the method used for its discovery which involved using clones from a meiosis-specific cDNA library to direct knock-out mutations of abundantly expressed meiotic genes. The DMC1 gene and protein were discovered in the budding yeast S. cerevisiae by Douglas Bishop when he was a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Nancy Kleckner at Harvard University. The Dmc1 protein is one of two homologs of RecA found in eukaryotic cells, the other being Rad51. In budding yeast, Rad51 serves as a strand exchange protein in mitosis where it is critical for the repair of DNA breaks. Rad51 is converted to an accessory factor for Dmc1 during meiosis by inhibition of its strand exchange activity. Homologs of DMC1 have been identified in many organisms including divergent fungi, plants and mammals including humans.

The protein encoded by this gene is essential for meiotic homologous recombination. Genetic recombination in meiosis plays an important role in generating diversity of genetic information and is essential for the reductional segregation of chromosomes that must occur for formation of gametes during sexual reproduction.