DNA Repair Protein RAD50 (RAD50)

The S. cerevisiae Rad50 gene encodes a protein that is essential for double-stranded DNA break repair by nonhomologous DNA end joining and chromosomal integration.

The human RAD50 gene spans 100 to 130 kb. Northern blot analysis revealed that the RAD50 gene was expressed as a 5.5-kb mRNA predominantly in testis. A faint 7-kb transcript, which the authors considered to be an mRNA with an alternatively processed 3-prime end, was also detected. Yeast Rad50 and the predicted 1,312-amino acid human RAD50 protein share more than 50% identity in their N- and C-termini. The central heptad repeat domains of the proteins have relatively divergent primary sequences but are predicted to adopt very similar coiled-coil structures.