The fission yeast FANCM ortholog directs non-crossover recombination during meiosis

The formation of healthy gametes depends on programmed DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), which are each repaired as a crossover (CO) or non-crossover (NCO) from a homologous template. Although most of these DSBs are repaired without giving COs, little is known about the genetic requirements of NCO-specific recombination. We show that Fml1, the Fanconi anemia complementation group M (FANCM) - ortholog of Schizosaccharomyces pombe, directs the formation of NCOs during meiosis in competition with the Mus81-dependent pro-CO pathway. We also define the Rad51/Dmc1 - mediator Swi5-Sfr1 as a major determinant in biasing the recombination process in favor of Mus81, to ensure the appropriate amount of COs to guide meiotic chromosome segregation. The conservation of these proteins from yeast to humans suggests that this interplay may be a general feature of meiotic recombination.