A recombinase diversified: new functions of the RAG proteins

VL Brandt, DB Roth - Current opinion in immunology, 2002 - Elsevier
VL Brandt, DB Roth
Current opinion in immunology, 2002Elsevier
The RAG proteins were long thought to serve merely as a nuclease, initiating recombination
by cleaving DNA. Recent work has shown, however, that these proteins are essential for
many steps in the recombination pathway, such as opening hairpins and joining broken
DNA ends, and that they can also act as a transposase, targeting distorted DNA structures
such as hairpins.
The RAG proteins were long thought to serve merely as a nuclease, initiating recombination by cleaving DNA. Recent work has shown, however, that these proteins are essential for many steps in the recombination pathway, such as opening hairpins and joining broken DNA ends, and that they can also act as a transposase, targeting distorted DNA structures such as hairpins.
Elsevier