The repair of double-strand breaks in chromosomal DNA of yeast.

Ionizing radiation induces double-strand breaks in the nuclear DNA of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae with an efficiency of approximately 0.6 X 10(-10) breaks being repaired. Based on the efficiency of break production, the sensitivity of a rad52 mutant, and the absence of radiation-induced recombination in such a mutant, it is proposed that the corresponding gene product may be involved in double-strand break repair. A model involving recombination and DNA synthesis is described for this type of repair.