RAD52 Homolog (RAD52)

RAD52 shares similarity with Saccharomyces cerevisiae Rad52, a protein important for DNA double-strand break repair and homologous recombination. This gene product was shown to bind single-stranded DNA ends, and mediate the DNA-DNA interaction necessary for the annealing of complementary DNA strands. It was also found to interact with DNA recombination protein RAD51, which suggested its role in RAD51 related DNA recombination and repair.The RAD52 epistasis group, which is mainly responsible for DNA double-strand break repair, contains 8 genes: RAD50 through RAD57. One of these, RAD51, has been cloned and found to have homology in yeast, chicken, mouse, and human to the bacterial Rec-A (RECA) protein, which is required for homologous recombination.