Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests. Is it a wrap? Nucleosome interactions of the BRCA1-binding partner, BARD1, steal the scene emerging findings provide compelling evidence that the bRCA1-binding partner bARD1 contributes yet further to bRCA1 function. bARD1 is crucial for positioning the e2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme that confers specificity of its ligase to residues on histone H2A, and bARD1 also promotes DNA damage-induced chromatin recruitment through an interaction with ubiquitin-conjugated Lys13 or Lys15 of H2A on the nucleosome core particle. Nature Joanna R. Morris T he BRCA1-BARD1 complex is a crucial tumor suppressor that is linked to the prevention of familial breast and ovarian cancers. The heterodimer has several proposed functions, including the regulation of DNA resection and the promotion of RAD51 loading through PALB2-BRCA2, which is required for homology-directed DNA repair. Despite the tremendous focus in the decades since the discovery of the BRCA1 gene, several critical questions have remained, if not completely unanswered, then with unsatisfactory solutions. Although a complete literature review is not possible here, some pertinent observations are that recruitment of BRCA1-BARD1 to damaged chromatin occurs through the