Telomere maintenance and DNA repair are important processes that protect the genome. The essential helicase mRtel1 functions in homologous recombination repair and replication. In addition, telomeres in mRtel-deficient ES cells appear relatively stable in length, suggesting that mRtel1 is required to allow extension by telomerase.

Telomere maintenance and DNA repair are crucial processes that protect the genome against instability. RTEL1, an essential iron–sulfur cluster-containing helicase, is a dominant factor that controls telomere length in mice and is required for telomere integrity. In addition, RTEL1 promotes synthesis-dependent strand annealing to direct DNA double-strand breaks into non-crossover outcomes during mitotic repair and in meiosis. Here, we review the role of RTEL1 in telomere maintenance and homologous recombination and discuss models linking RTEL1’s enzymatic activity to its function in telomere maintenance and DNA repair.

This study provides novel insight into the formation and resolution of telomere associations, which have been observed during key cellular processes such as mitosis, meiosis, and carcinogenesis. TRF1, a core component of the telomere protein complex, is a mediator of telomere associations in mammalian cells.

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