MUS81 is a component of a minor
chromosomal crossover (CO) pathway in the
meiosis of
budding yeast, plants and vertebrates. However, in the protozoan
Tetrahymena thermophila, MUS81 appears to be part of an essential (if not the predominant) CO pathway. The MUS81-MMS4 endonuclease, although a minor resolvase for CO formation in
S. cerevisiae, is crucial for limiting chromosome entanglements by suppressing multiple consecutive recombination events from initiating from the same DSB. Mus81 deficient mice have significant meiotic defects including the failure to repair a subset of DSBs. == Interactions ==