Downloaded from http://cshperspectives.cshlp.org/ on September 27, 2021 - Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press Regulation of Recombination and Genomic Maintenance Wolf-Dietrich Heyer1,2 1Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Davis, Davis, California 95616-8665 2Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, California 95616-8665 Correspondence:
[email protected] Recombination is a central process to stably maintain and transmit a genome through somatic cell divisions and to new generations. Hence, recombination needs to be coordi- nated with other events occurring on the DNA template, such as DNA replication, transcrip- tion, and the specialized chromosomal functions at centromeres and telomeres. Moreover, regulation with respect to the cell-cycle stage is required as much as spatiotemporal coor- dination within the nuclear volume. These regulatory mechanisms impinge on the DNA substrate through modifications of the chromatin and directly on recombination proteins through a myriad of posttranslational modifications (PTMs) and additional mechanisms. Although recombination is primarily appreciated to maintain genomic stability, the process also contributes to gross chromosomal arrangements and copy-number changes. Hence, the recombination process itself requires quality control to ensure high fidelity and avoid genomic instability. Evidently, recombination and its regulatory processes have significant impact on human disease, specifically cancer and, possibly,