Accelerated evolution of Pseudomonas bacteria after introduction of cloned CAM-OCT DNA repair genes: Potential for industrial and environmental applications

Deinococcus bacteria are extremely resistant to radiation and able to repair a shattered genome in an essentially error-free manner after exposure to high doses of radiation or prolonged desiccation. An efficient, SOS-independent response mechanism to induce various DNA repair genes such as recA is essential for radiation resistance. This pathway, called radiation/desiccation response, is controlled by metallopeptidase IrrE and repressor DdrO that are highly conserved in Deinococcus. Among various Deinococcus species, Deinococcus radiodurans has been studied most extensively. Its genome encodes classical DNA repair proteins for error-free repair but no error-prone translesion DNA polymerases, which may suggest that absence of mutagenic lesion bypass is crucial for error-free repair of massive DNA damage. However, many other radiation-resistant Deinococcus species do possess translesion polymerases, and radiation-induced mutagenesis has been demonstrated. At least dozens of Deinococcus species contain a mutagenesis cassette, and some even two cassettes, encoding error-prone translesion polymerase DnaE2 and two other proteins, ImuY and ImuB-C, that are probable accessory factors required for DnaE2 activity. Expression of this mutagenesis cassette is under control of the SOS regulators RecA and LexA. In this paper, we review both the RecA/LexA-controlled mutagenesis and the IrrE/DdrO-controlled radiation/desiccation response in Deinococcus.

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Patients with Systemic Sclerosis Present Increased DNA Damage Differentially Associated with DNA Repair Gene Polymorphisms

The Journal of Rheumatology ◽

10.3899/jrheum.130376 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 41 (3) ◽

pp. 458-465 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Gustavo Martelli Palomino ◽

Carmen L. Bassi ◽

Isabela J. Wastowski ◽

Danilo J. Xavier ◽

Yara M. Lucisano-Valim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dna Damage ◽

Dna Repair ◽

Systemic Sclerosis ◽

Blood Cells ◽

Gene Polymorphisms ◽

Peripheral Blood Cells ◽

Dna Repair Genes ◽

Repair Gene ◽

Dna Repair Gene ◽

Repair Genes

Objective.Patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) exhibit increased toxicity when exposed to genotoxic agents. In our study, we evaluated DNA damage and polymorphic sites in 2 DNA repair genes (XRCC1Arg399Gln andXRCC4Ile401Thr) in patients with SSc.Methods.A total of 177 patients were studied for DNA repair gene polymorphisms. Fifty-six of them were also evaluated for DNA damage in peripheral blood cells using the comet assay.Results.Compared to controls, the patients as a whole or stratified into major clinical variants (limited or diffuse skin involvement), irrespective of the underlying treatment schedule, exhibited increased DNA damage.XRCC1(rs: 25487) andXRCC4(rs: 28360135) allele and genotype frequencies observed in patients with SSc were not significantly different from those observed in controls; however, theXRCC1Arg399Gln allele was associated with increased DNA damage only in healthy controls and theXRCC4Ile401Thr allele was associated with increased DNA damage in both patients and controls. Further, theXRCC1Arg399Gln allele was associated with the presence of antinuclear antibody and anticentromere antibody. No association was observed between these DNA repair gene polymorphic sites and clinical features of patients with SSc.Conclusion.These results corroborate the presence of genomic instability in SSc peripheral blood cells, as evaluated by increased DNA damage, and show that polymorphic sites of theXRCC1andXRCC4DNA repair genes may differentially influence DNA damage and the development of autoantibodies.

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