Rad51 replication fork recruitment is required for DNA damage tolerance

Homologous recombination (HR) is essential for genome integrity. Recombination proteins participate in tolerating DNA lesions that interfere with DNA replication, but can also generate toxic recombination intermediates and genetic instability when they are not properly regulated. Here, we have studied the role of the recombination proteins Rad51 and Rad52 at replication forks and replicative DNA lesions. We show that Rad52 loads Rad51 onto unperturbed replication forks, where they facilitate replication of alkylated DNA by non-repair functions. The recruitment of Rad52 and Rad51 to chromatin during DNA replication is a prerequisite for the repair of the non-DSB DNA lesions, presumably single-stranded DNA gaps, which are generated during the replication of alkylated DNA. We also show that the repair of these lesions requires CDK1 and is not coupled to the fork but rather restricted to G2/M by the replicative checkpoint. We propose a new scenario for HR where Rad52 and Rad51 are recruited to the fork to promote DNA damage tolerance by distinct and cell cycle-regulated replicative and repair functions. © 2013 European Molecular Biology Organization.RG‐P and MJC‐L were recipients of pre‐doctoral training grants (FPI) from the Spanish Ministry of Science. AMM‐C was a recipient of a contract of the Juan de la Cierva program from the Spanish government. Research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science (BFU2006‐08336 and BFU2009‐09036) and the Junta de Andalucia (P07‐CVI‐032000).Peer Reviewe