Nature Communications - The mediator protein Rad52 promotes Rad51 binding onto RPA-coated DNA to initiate homologous recombination. Here, the authors show that Rad52 sorts Rad51 into monomers and...

Hanthi et al. found that RAD51 recognizes and binds to abasic sites. Together with BRCA2, RAD51 prevents the accumulation of abasic site-induced replicative DNA gaps (caused by DNA methylation, oxidat...

Homologous recombination (HR) deficiency upon Breast Cancer Gene 2 (BRCA2) loss arises from defects in the formation of RAD51 nucleoprotein filaments. We demonstrate that loss of the anti-recombinase ...

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 22 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s41594-026-01796-6Rawal, Kwon and colleaugues obtain cryo-electron microscopy structures and biochemical analyses that reveal how RAD51 paralog exchange remodels distinct complexes with different functions to regulate DNA repair by promoting RAD51 filament formation.

Hanthi et al. found that RAD51 recognizes and binds to abasic sites. Together with BRCA2, RAD51 prevents the accumulation of abasic site-induced replicative DNA gaps (caused by DNA methylation, oxidat...

Nature - BCDX2–CX3 and DX2–CX3 complexes assemble and stabilize RAD51 filaments

Maintaining genome integrity is an essential and challenging process. RAD51 recombinase, the central player of several crucial processes in repairing DNA and protecting genome integrity, forms filamen...

Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) feature a branched chromatin architecture whose origin and function remain unknown. We found that NET branching is mediated by RAD51, a protein generating DNA jun...

With detailed structural and molecular analyses, Longo et al. find that the BRCA2 C-terminal TR2, which is a critical cancer therapy resistance factor, reshapes the RAD51 dimer for B-DNA binding that ...

Merigliano et al. identified a non-canonical, “off-pore” role for nucleoporins in genome stability and in the spatial regulation of homologous recombination in multicellular eukaryotes. Nup98 condensates form at DNA breaks within pericentromeric heterochromatin to prevent aberrant recombination by excluding Rad51, while promoting the mobilization of repair sites through immiscibility with heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) condensates.

Maintaining genome integrity is an essential and challenging process. RAD51 recombinase, the central player of several crucial processes in repairing DNA and protecting genome integrity, forms filamen...

Homologous Recombination (HR) preserves genomic stability by repairing double-strand DNA breaks and ensuring efficient DNA replication. Central to HR is the strand-exchange reaction taking place within the three-stranded synapsis wherein a RAD51 nucleoprotein filament binds to a donor DNA. Here we present the cryoEM structure of a displacement loop of human RAD51 that captures the synaptic state when the filament has become tightly bound to the donor DNA. The structure elucidates the mechanism of strand exchange by RAD51, including the filament engagement with the donor DNA, the strand invasion and pairing with the complementary sequence of the donor DNA, the capture of the non-complementary strand and the polarity of the strand-exchange reaction. Our findings provide fundamental mechanistic insights into the biochemical reaction of eukaryotic HR. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.

Pesquisa com camundongos revela que a falta da proteína RAD51 em óvulos provoca danos no genoma do embrião, reduz o número de filhotes e favorece o surgimento de alterações genéticas espontâneas. Acha...

In this issue of Molecular Cell, Koo et al. describe how the yeast Rad55-Rad57-SHU complex dynamically nucleates Rad51 filaments on DNA. Functional coupling between Rad55-Rad57 and Rad51 on ssDNA seeds filament growth, whilst ATP hydrolysis promotes complex turnover.

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 22 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s41594-026-01796-6Rawal, Kwon and colleaugues obtain cryo-electron microscopy structures and biochemical analyses that reveal how RAD51 paralog exchange remodels distinct complexes with different functions to regulate DNA repair by promoting RAD51 filament formation.

Abstract. Poly(ADP‐ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors (PARPis) are currently used to treat BRCA1/2 mutant cancers. Although PARPi sensitivity has been at

The tumour-suppressor protein BRCA2 is discovered to have a previously undescribed role in maintaining genomic integrity and the sensitivity of PARP1 inhibitors.