Diedre Reitz

FIGNL1 inhibits homologous recombination in BRCA2 deficient cells by dissociating RAD51 filaments Homologous recombination (HR) deficiency upon Breast Cancer Gene 2 (BRCA2) loss arises from defects in the formation of RAD51 nucleoprotein filaments. We demonstrate that loss of the anti-recombinase ...

Want to know how homologous recombination defects are caused upon loss of BRCA2? Check out our recent efforts in uncovering this phenomenon just out in Science!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Among the anti-recombinases, FIGNL1 rules them all. So much that inactivating it brings BRCA2-deficient cells to life. Who is responsible for RAD51 loading without BRCA2/FIGNL1, check out the paper to find out! Great collaboration with @raychaudhurilab.bsky.social

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

See our paper “Mechanism of trinucleotide repeat expansion by MutSβ-MutLγ and contraction by FAN1”. Using biochemistry, we show how DNA incisions by the MutLγ nuclease can lead to expansions, and how expansion is prevented by FAN1. Well done Issam and Valentina!

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

XPF mediates 3' flap processing for FEN1-independent Okazaki fragment maturation https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.24.684453v1

If anyone is hiring a technician, I’ve got a great candidate. I wish I could hire her myself! She’s got the grit, she knows how to hustle, and she does publication quality work. Lots of molecular biology, protein, and cell culture experience. Please DM me if you are interested.

Cell-stereotyped DNA repair outcomes are widespread during genome editing https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.23.684114v1

SoCal Genome Stability Symposium The annual Genome Stability Symposium provides a forum for trainees in the Southern California region to present their research on the field of genome stability.

Registration is open for the 2025 SoCal Genome Stability Symposium. Free registration. All talks by trainees. www.cityofhope.org/genome-stabi...

Whole-genome variant detection in long-read sequencing data from ultra-low input patient samples Long-read sequencing provides a more complete view of the genome than short-read sequencing, with advantages in the detection of structural variants, tandem repeats, and small variants (single nucleot...

Come check out Cera’s poster (4106) today at 2:30pm! Pre-print: www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...

Long-read sequencing reveals telomere inheritance patterns from human trios https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.07.680721v1

I want to try something again at #ASHG25 this year: I'll block some time on Thursday and Friday afternoons to meet with trainees who would be interested to chat on any topic.

I did this last year and it was great to meet a whole bunch of new people, at all career stages!

REVIEW: Modeling and targeting general and chromosome-specific aneuploidy in cancer.
By Aleah Goldberg, Maria Trifas and Teresa Davoli

Learn more here:
➡️ https://genesdev.cshlp.org/content/39/19-20/1132.abstract

Pan-cancer analysis reveals context-dependent roles of LINE-1 ORF1p in immune regulation and copy number alterations https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.03.680361v1

Influence of cis-regulatory elements on regulatory divergence in human segmental duplications https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.03.680410v1

Thank you so much!!

Congrats!!

A comprehensive genetic catalog of human double-strand break repair The analysis of DNA sequence outcomes provides molecular insights into double-strand break (DSB) repair mechanisms. Using parallel in-pool profiling of Cas9-induced insertions and deletions (indels) w...

A comprehensive genetic catalog of human double-strand break repair | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Protecting double Holliday junctions ensures crossing over during meiosis - Nature Conditional ablation experiments show that key components of the synaptonemal complex protect double Holliday junction recombination intermediates to ensure their resolution into crossover products, which are required for accurate chromosome segregation during meiosis.

Fantastic work coming out of Neil Hunter’s lab! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

YouTube video by Stowers Institute for Medical Research How Stowers Scientists Found the DNA Site Where Robertsonian Chromosomes Fuse

🚂 The T2T train keeps rolling: "The formation and propagation of human Robertsonian chromosomes" with Gerton and Garrison labs is out! What's a Robertsonian chromosome? Let Jen tell you herself in this great video, or read our paper: [1/3]
📺 youtu.be/JmlY5omxQVc
📄 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

We’re excited to share a Postdoc Opening in the Burkard Lab @iowa /Holden Cancer Center. The fellow will study mitotic regulation in normal & cancer cells, exploring drug response & resistance in human samples, organoids, & preclinical models. Spread the word!
📅 Apply by 3/1/26
📧 mburkard@uiowa.edu

The preprint for our super fun collaboration with Erika Shor @mutant-fungus.bsky.social is out. Check it out to see some really beautiful PFGE karyotyping gels from Candida glabrata!

L1 insertion intermediates recombine with one another or with DNA breaks to form genome rearrangements LINE-1 retrotransposition is common in human cancers and rearrangements at insertion sites can contribute to cancer-driving oncogene amplifications and promote genome instability. However, the mechani...

Check out our pre-print: We show that L1 insertion intermediates can recombine with one another or with DNA breaks to form genome rearrangements, highlighting the risk of L1 retrotransposition generating substrates for aberrant recombination and genome instability.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Looks like a super cool story!!

My guess is these are the two ends of the DSB and this is Ku??

Figure I. Origins of transposable element (TE)-encoded and TE-derived proteins in cancer.

"Unmasked: transposable elements as drivers and targets in cancer"
by Ting Wang & colleagues

"This review synthesizes a growing body of work that positions TEs as both catalysts and antagonists of the tumor state."

Check it out!
authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...

The reckoning of chromosomal instability: past, present, future - Chromosome Research Quantitative measures of CIN are crucial to our understanding of its role in cancer. Technological advances have changed the way CIN is quantified, offering increased accuracy and insight. Here, we re...

Chromosomal instability is everywhere in cancer biology—but how do we actually measure it?
Our 2024 review The Reckoning of CIN: Past, Present, Future (Lynch, Bradford, Burkard et al.) digs into the methods, pitfalls, and what’s coming next. #CIN #Aneuploidy #CancerBiology

Measuring chromosomal instability #CIN isn’t straightforward. We compared live imaging, FISH, scDNA-seq & other assays, and found significant differences. Our take: Use mis-segregations per diploid division (MDD) as a clear standard.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Gene-Specific Detection Rate of Adenomas and Advanced Adenomas in Lynch Syndrome Colonoscopy is expected to reduce colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence in Lynch syndrome (LS) by detecting and removing adenomas. The existence of gene-specific differences in adenoma detection has be…

lynchsyndromeireland.com/2025/09/14/g...

Phosphoregulation of RAD51AP1 function in homology-directed repair https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.10.675389v1

Happy to share new work from my lab by co-authors Peng and Lee-when BRCA1 is absent, RAD51 is busy authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...

We were one of the lucky ones to receive our NCI award. We have an open postdoctoral fellow or research tech position in the group. If you (or anyone you know) has strong expertise in structural biology or cell biology (genomic instability mechanisms) please reach out. www.antonylab.org