MutSα deficiency increases tolerance to DNA damage in yeast lacking postreplication repair.

•Deletion of mismatch repair gene MSH2 partially suppressed MMS sensitivity in rad5 yeast.•MutSα, but not MutSβ, sensitized the rad5 yeast strain to MMS.•The suppression of MMS sensitivity in rad5 yeast by msh2 was Rad52 dependent.•A Rad5- and Rad51-independent template switch mechanism is suggested.