Holliday, Robin

In recombination pathways for meiosis and some other processes, intermediates form that are composed ot four polynucleotide chains in a crosslike structure. Intermediates with these crosslike structures are often referred to as Holliday junctions, after Robin Holliday, who proposed their role in recombination in 1964. Such intermediates have been characterized by a wide range of techniques including x-ray crystallography. 

The second critical step in homologous recombination is the isomerization and resolution of the two DNA molecules. The physical location where all four heteroduplex DNA strands meet, each base-paired with the complementary strand, is called a Holliday junction (named after Robin Holliday, who first proposed it). Figure 23.7 schematically illustrates how these DNA gymnastics are thought to occur, resulting in the formation of DNA characteristic of a homologous recombination event. Starting with the structure at the junction,... 

Holliday junction A DNA intermediate formed during homologous recombination Robin Holliday first proposed the existence of this structure. 

The most straightforward way to accomplish recombination is to break and rejoin DNA molecules, a process called homologous recombination. In 1964 Robin Holliday proposed a model (detailed in Figure 25.20) for homologous recombination between duplex DNA molecules. 

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