This gene belongs to the Rad51 gene family whose products play a major role in homologous recombination and DNA repair. The encoded protein interacts with other proteins of this family, including Rad51b, Rad51c and Xrcc2, and plays an essential role in both DNA repair and telomere maintenance. In humans, germline mutations in this gene may be associated with predisposition to ovarian cancer. Alternative splicing of this gene results in multiple transcript variants. [provided by RefSeq, May 2013]