DNA double strand breaks (DSB) are an essential feature during meiosis, a cell division process found in all sexually reproducing organisms. Repair of these breaks mediates exchange of genetic information between parental genomes. Errors during this process can cause genome instability. The lab of Peter Schlögelhofer has discovered that the non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) DNA repair mechanism plays an important role in repairing ribosomal DNA during meiosis. The findings are published in the current issue of The Plant Cell.