RuvC is a resolvase and can cleave synthetic Holliday junctions by itself. The yeast enzyme cleaves symmetrically 4 to 6 bp from the base of the stems if the sequences are homologous. In the absence of r eciprocal recombination , the resolution may lead to a heteroduplex, observed genetically as gene conversion . T 4 endonuclease VII, the yeast enzyme, and ruvC are resolvases. The existence of resolvases suggests that Holliday structures are true intermediates in recombination, as predicted by models of recombination .
Recombination is important in repair of at least some UV damage in bacteria.
The extent of branch migration before resolution determines the length of heteroduplex DNA .