Sufficient amounts of functional HOP2/MND1 complex promote interhomolog DNA repair but are dispensable for intersister DNA repair during meiosis in Arabidopsis.

During meiosis, homologous recombination (HR) is essential to repair programmed DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), and a dedicated protein machinery ensures that the homologous chromosome is favored over the nearby sister chromatid as a repair template. The homologous-pairing protein2/meiotic nuclear division protein1 (HOP2/MND1) protein complex has been identified as a crucial factor of meiotic HR in Arabidopsis thaliana, since loss of either MND1 or HOP2 results in failure of DNA repair. We isolated two mutant alleles of HOP2 (hop2-2 and hop2-3) that retained the capacity to repair meiotic DSBs via the sister chromatid but failed to use the homologous chromosome.

The Arabidopsis SWR1 chromatin-remodeling complex is important for DNA repair, somatic recombination, and meiosis.

All processes requiring interaction with DNA are attuned to occur within the context of the complex chromatin structure. As it does for programmed transcription and replication, this also holds true for unscheduled events, such as repair of DNA damage. Lesions such as double-strand breaks occur randomly; their repair requires that enzyme complexes access DNA at potentially any genomic site.