Spo11 is a protein used in a complex along with Mre11 and Rad50 during meiotic recombination.[1] It is also involved in the creation of double stranded breaks in the DNA in the early stages of this process. Its active site contains a tyrosine which ligates and dissociates with DNA to promote break formation. One Spo11 protein is involved per strand of DNA, thus two Spo11 proteins are involved in each double stranded break event.
Genetic exchange between two DNA molecules by homologous recombination begins with a break in both strands of DNA—called a double-strand break—and recombination is started by an endonuclease enzyme that cuts the DNA molecule that "receives" the exchanged DNA. In meiosis the enzyme is SPO11, which is related to DNA topoisomerases. These enzymes change DNA by transiently breaking one or both strands, passing the unbroken DNA strand or strands through the break and repairing the break. The broken ends of the DNA are covalently linked to the enzyme. SPO11 is similarly attached to the DNA when it forms double-strand breaks during meiosis. [2]