Abstract

Homologous recombination (HR) is essential for the accurate repair of DNA double‐strand breaks and damaged replication forks. However, inappropriate or aberrant HR can also result in genome rearrangements. The maintenance of cell viability is, therefore, a careful balancing act between the benefits of HR (the error‐free repair of DNA strand breaks) and the potential detrimental outcomes of HR (chromosomal rearrangements). Two papers have recently provided a mechanistic insight into how HR may be tempered by RecQ helicases to prevent genome instability and diseases that are a consequence of this, such as cancer.1,2 BioEssays 30:291–295, 2008. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.