The ends in sight: Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1 complex structures come into focus

In this issue of Molecular Cell, Rotheneder et al.1 elucidate the eukaroytic Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1 (MRN) complex quaternary architecture, which together with cryo-EM structures of bacterial Mre11-Rad50-DNA complexes,(2) resolves the basis for MRN assembly and its broad nuclease specificity regulating DNA double-strand break repair.

Automated summary

In this research paper, Rotheneder et al. elucidate the quaternary architecture of the eukaryotic MRN complex and resolve the basis for its assembly and regulation of DNA double-strand break repair through cryo-EM structures of bacterial Mre11-Rad50-DNA complexes.