Methods for studying the cellular response to DNA damage: influence of the Mre11 complex on chromosome metabolism.

Dramatic progress in understanding the mediators and mechanisms of chromosome break metabolism has been made in recent years. As a result, the links between disease and defects in chromosome dynamics have become clearer. In this chapter, we discuss techniques employed in our laboratory to study chromosome break metabolism, which include assessments at the molecular and cellular level. In our laboratory, we use the Mre11 complex as a tool to study this process, but the techniques discussed are of general relevance.