Essential Meiotic Endonuclease 1 Homolog 2 (EME2)

EME2 forms a heterodimer with MUS81 that functions as an XPF-type flap/fork endonuclease in DNA repair (Ciccia et al., 2007).By searching for homologs of S. pombe Eme1, followed by PCR, Ciccia et al. (2003) cloned EME1 and EME2. The deduced 245-amino acid EME2 protein has a calculated molecular mass of 26 kD and shares 44% identity with EME1.

By searching for proteins similar to the C-terminal region of MUS81, followed by PCR of a HeLa cell cDNA library, Ciccia et al. (2007) cloned EME2. The deduced 379-amino acid protein has a calculated molecular mass of 41.2 kD and shares 39% identity with EME1. It has an inactive ERCC4-type nuclease domain and a C-terminal helix-hairpin-helix motif. EME2/MUS81 heterodimer exhibited DNA endonuclease activity against 3-prime flap and splayed arm substrates.