SMC proteins, new players in the maintenance of genomic stability

Homologous recombination ( HR) is one of the key mechanisms responsible for the repair of DNA double - strand breaks ( DSBs), including those that occur during DNA replication. Recent studies in yeast and mammals have uncovered that the SMC complexes cohesins and Smc5 - Smc6 are recruited to induced DSBs, and play a role in the mainte nance of genome stability by favouring SCR as the main recombinational DSB repair mechanism. These new results raise intriguing questions such as whether SMC proteins might play a functional role at collapsed replication forks, which may represent the main source of spontaneous recombinogenic damage. A deeper knowledge of the role of SMC proteins in DSB repair should contribute to a better understanding of chromosome dynamics and stability.