Tricks of DNA Repair

Duke University Medical Center and NIH researchers have found that repeat-associated double-strand breaks can reshape the genome. In watching how DNA repairs itself in yeast after being broken by radiation, the scientists found a high level of recombination in repeated regions of the genome. "We have been able to show with yeast that these repeated sequences allow the formation of new types of chromosomes (chromosome aberrations), and represent one important way of diversifying the genome," says Lucas Argueso at ScienceDaily.