atm-1 acts on exogenous DSBs as well as SPO-11 induced DSBS to promote COs within a threshold of total DSBs. Quantification of DAPI bodies in −1 nuclei for different doses of IR. Color key below. (A) 2 Gy IR leads to more COs in atm-1;spo-11 and atm-1;dsb-1 compared to control spo-11 dsb-1, respectively. (B) atm-1 loss is overpowered by high numbers of DSBs, between 10 and 25 Gy (20–50 DSBs) in atm-1; spo-11 (top); below 10 Gy (20 additional breaks) in atm-1;him-5 (∼28 endogenous breaks). *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, n.s. = no significant difference, two-tailed Mann Whitney test.