Taming Mre11-Rad50 at Telomeres: Convergent Strategies for Chromosome-End Protection Across Evolution.
- 1Department of Fundamental Microbiology (DMF), Faculty of Biology and Medicine (FBM), University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Abstract
Telomere biology is often framed as a uniquely eukaryotic problem, yet the challenges of maintaining DNA ends are shared by all organisms harboring linear DNA, including viral entities. Telomeres enable complete replication of chromosome ends while shielding the termini from DNA repair factors and innate immune surveillance systems that would otherwise recognize them as damaged or foreign DNA. A particular threat is posed by Mre11-Rad50, a nuclease complex conserved from bacteria to humans that specializes in the detection and processing of DNA ends. The solutions to these DNA end-related challenges that have emerged across the tree of life converge on a small number of recurring strategies. Here, we review how diverse biological systems, from bacteriophages to mammals, have solved the DNA end-related challenges, with a particular focus on recent advances in our understanding of end protection.
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BibTeX
@article{roisnehamelin2026taming,
title = {{Taming Mre11-Rad50 at Telomeres: Convergent Strategies for Chromosome-End Protection Across Evolution.}},
author = {Florian Roisné-Hamelin and Stephan Gruber},
journal = {BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1002/bies.70197},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42905107},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Taming Mre11-Rad50 at Telomeres: Convergent Strategies for Chromosome-End Protection Across Evolution.
AU - Florian Roisné-Hamelin
AU - Stephan Gruber
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology
DO - 10.1002/bies.70197
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42905107
AB - Telomere biology is often framed as a uniquely eukaryotic problem, yet the challenges of maintaining DNA ends are shared by all organisms harboring linear DNA, including viral entities. Telomeres enable complete replication of chromosome ends while shielding the termini from DNA repair factors and innate immune surveillance systems that would otherwise recognize them as damaged or foreign DNA. A particular threat is posed by Mre11-Rad50, a nuclease complex conserved from bacteria to humans that specializes in the detection and processing of DNA ends. The solutions to these DNA end-related challenges that have emerged across the tree of life converge on a small number of recurring strategies. Here, we review how diverse biological systems, from bacteriophages to mammals, have solved the DNA end-related challenges, with a particular focus on recent advances in our understanding of end protection.
SN - 0265-9247
SN - 1521-1878
ER -