SPO11 is similarly attached to the DNA when it forms double-strand breaks during meiosis.

Another mechanism to micronuclei formation is by a double-strand break in the DNA, creating a separate linear fragment.

Many species of bacteria, including Escherichia coli, lack an end joining pathway and thus rely completely on homologous recombination to repair double-strand breaks.

One common example of double-strand damage is the double-strand break.

Non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) is a major pathway for repairing double-strand breaks.

In particular, Sgs1 collaborates with other proteins to repair double-strand breaks during homologous recombination in eukaryotes.

After a double-strand break occurs, sections of DNA around the 5' ends of the break are cut away in a process called resection.

Left unrepaired, these double-strand breaks can cause large-scale rearrangement of chromosomes in somatic cells, which can in turn lead to cancer.

After being so activated by the addition of a phosphate, Sae2 uses its endonuclease activity to make a clean cut near a double-strand break in DNA.

These double-strand breaks can be caused by UV light and other radiation, as well as chemical mutagens.