scholarly journals DNA polymerases δ and λ cooperate in repairing double-strand breaks by microhomology-mediated end-joining in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (50) ◽  
pp. E6907-E6916 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damon Meyer ◽  
Becky Xu Hua Fu ◽  
Wolf-Dietrich Heyer

Maintenance of genome stability is carried out by a suite of DNA repair pathways that ensure the repair of damaged DNA and faithful replication of the genome. Of particular importance are the repair pathways, which respond to DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), and how the efficiency of repair is influenced by sequence homology. In this study, we developed a genetic assay in diploid Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells to analyze DSBs requiring microhomologies for repair, known as microhomology-mediated end-joining (MMEJ). MMEJ repair efficiency increased concomitant with microhomology length and decreased upon introduction of mismatches. The central proteins in homologous recombination (HR), Rad52 and Rad51, suppressed MMEJ in this system, suggesting a competition between HR and MMEJ for the repair of a DSB. Importantly, we found that DNA polymerase delta (Pol δ) is critical for MMEJ, independent of microhomology length and base-pairing continuity. MMEJ recombinants showed evidence that Pol δ proofreading function is active during MMEJ-mediated DSB repair. Furthermore, mutations in Pol δ and DNA polymerase 4 (Pol λ), the DNA polymerase previously implicated in MMEJ, cause a synergistic decrease in MMEJ repair. Pol λ showed faster kinetics associating with MMEJ substrates following DSB induction than Pol δ. The association of Pol δ depended on RAD1, which encodes the flap endonuclease needed to cleave MMEJ intermediates before DNA synthesis. Moreover, Pol δ recruitment was diminished in cells lacking Pol λ. These data suggest cooperative involvement of both polymerases in MMEJ.

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Zhao ◽  
Chengyu Bao ◽  
Yuxuan Shang ◽  
Xinye He ◽  
Chiyuan Ma ◽  
...  

Ionising radiation- (IR-) induced DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are considered to be the deleterious DNA lesions that pose a serious threat to genomic stability. The major DNA repair pathways, including classical nonhomologous end joining, homologous recombination, single-strand annealing, and alternative end joining, play critical roles in countering and eliciting IR-induced DSBs to ensure genome integrity. If the IR-induced DNA DSBs are not repaired correctly, the residual or incorrectly repaired DSBs can result in genomic instability that is associated with certain human diseases. Although many efforts have been made in investigating the major mechanisms of IR-induced DNA DSB repair, it is still unclear what determines the choices of IR-induced DNA DSB repair pathways. In this review, we discuss how the mechanisms of IR-induced DSB repair pathway choices can operate in irradiated cells. We first briefly describe the main mechanisms of the major DNA DSB repair pathways and the related key repair proteins. Based on our understanding of the characteristics of IR-induced DNA DSBs and the regulatory mechanisms of DSB repair pathways in irradiated cells and recent advances in this field, We then highlight the main factors and associated challenges to determine the IR-induced DSB repair pathway choices. We conclude that the type and distribution of IR-induced DSBs, chromatin state, DNA-end structure, and DNA-end resection are the main determinants of the choice of the IR-induced DNA DSB repair pathway.


2021 ◽  
Vol 90 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin M. Stinson ◽  
Joseph J. Loparo

DNA double-strand breaks pose a serious threat to genome stability. In vertebrates, these breaks are predominantly repaired by nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ), which pairs DNA ends in a multiprotein synaptic complex to promote their direct ligation. NHEJ is a highly versatile pathway that uses an array of processing enzymes to modify damaged DNA ends and enable their ligation. The mechanisms of end synapsis and end processing have important implications for genome stability. Rapid and stable synapsis is necessary to limit chromosome translocations that result from the mispairing of DNA ends. Furthermore, end processing must be tightly regulated to minimize mutations at the break site. Here, we review our current mechanistic understanding of vertebrate NHEJ, with a particular focus on end synapsis and processing. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Biochemistry, Volume 90 is June 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.


2021 ◽  
Vol 220 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Delisa E. Clay ◽  
Heidi S. Bretscher ◽  
Erin A. Jezuit ◽  
Korie B. Bush ◽  
Donald T. Fox

Cycling cells must respond to DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) to avoid genome instability. Missegregation of chromosomes with DSBs during mitosis results in micronuclei, aberrant structures linked to disease. How cells respond to DSBs during mitosis is incompletely understood. We previously showed that Drosophilamelanogaster papillar cells lack DSB checkpoints (as observed in many cancer cells). Here, we show that papillar cells still recruit early acting repair machinery (Mre11 and RPA3) and the Fanconi anemia (FA) protein Fancd2 to DSBs. These proteins persist as foci on DSBs as cells enter mitosis. Repair foci are resolved in a stepwise manner during mitosis. DSB repair kinetics depends on both monoubiquitination of Fancd2 and the alternative end-joining protein DNA polymerase θ. Disruption of either or both of these factors causes micronuclei after DNA damage, which disrupts intestinal organogenesis. This study reveals a mechanism for how cells with inactive DSB checkpoints can respond to DNA damage that persists into mitosis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (17) ◽  
pp. 9710-9723
Author(s):  
Sébastien Britton ◽  
Pauline Chanut ◽  
Christine Delteil ◽  
Nadia Barboule ◽  
Philippe Frit ◽  
...  

Abstract Two DNA repair pathways operate at DNA double strand breaks (DSBs): non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ), that requires two adjacent DNA ends for ligation, and homologous recombination (HR), that resects one DNA strand for invasion of a homologous duplex. Faithful repair of replicative single-ended DSBs (seDSBs) is mediated by HR, due to the lack of a second DNA end for end-joining. ATM stimulates resection at such breaks through multiple mechanisms including CtIP phosphorylation, which also promotes removal of the DNA-ends sensor and NHEJ protein Ku. Here, using a new method for imaging the recruitment of the Ku partner DNA-PKcs at DSBs, we uncover an unanticipated role of ATM in removing DNA-PKcs from seDSBs in human cells. Phosphorylation of DNA-PKcs on the ABCDE cluster is necessary not only for DNA-PKcs clearance but also for the subsequent MRE11/CtIP-dependent release of Ku from these breaks. We propose that at seDSBs, ATM activity is necessary for the release of both Ku and DNA-PKcs components of the NHEJ apparatus, and thereby prevents subsequent aberrant interactions between seDSBs accompanied by DNA-PKcs autophosphorylation and detrimental commitment to Lig4-dependent end-joining.


2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (19) ◽  
pp. 9481-9490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sham Sunder ◽  
Thomas E. Wilson

DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are serious genomic insults that can lead to chromosomal rearrangements if repaired incorrectly. To gain insight into the nuclear mechanisms contributing to these rearrangements, we developed an assay in yeast to measure cis (same site) vs. trans (different site) repair for the majority process of precise nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ). In the assay, the HO endonuclease gene is placed between two HO cut sites such that HO expression is self-terminated upon induction. We further placed an additional cut site in various genomic loci such that NHEJ in trans led to expression of a LEU2 reporter gene. Consistent with prior reports, cis NHEJ was more efficient than trans NHEJ. However, unlike homologous recombination, where spatial distance between a single DSB and donor locus was previously shown to correlate with repair efficiency, trans NHEJ frequency remained essentially constant regardless of the position of the two DSB loci, even when they were on the same chromosome or when two trans repair events were put in competition. Repair of similar DSBs via single-strand annealing of short terminal direct repeats showed substantially higher repair efficiency and trans repair frequency, but still without a strong correlation of trans repair to genomic position. Our results support a model in which yeast cells mobilize, and perhaps compartmentalize, multiple DSBs in a manner that no longer reflects the predamage position of two broken loci.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika Casari ◽  
Elisa Gobbini ◽  
Marco Gnugnoli ◽  
Marco Mangiagalli ◽  
Michela Clerici ◽  
...  

AbstractBudding yeast Dpb4 (POLE3/CHRAC17 in mammals) is a highly conserved histone fold protein that is shared by two protein complexes: the chromatin remodeler ISW2/hCHRAC and the DNA polymerase ε (Pol ε) holoenzyme. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Dpb4 forms histone-like dimers with Dls1 in the ISW2 complex and with Dpb3 in the Pol ε complex. Here, we show that Dpb4 plays two functions in sensing and processing DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Dpb4 promotes histone removal and DSB resection by interacting with Dls1 to facilitate the association of the Isw2 ATPase to DSBs. Furthermore, it promotes checkpoint activation by interacting with Dpb3 to facilitate the association of the checkpoint protein Rad9 to DSBs. Persistence of both Isw2 and Rad9 at DSBs is enhanced by the A62S mutation that is located in the Dpb4 histone fold domain and increases Dpb4 association at DSBs. Thus, Dpb4 exerts two distinct functions at DSBs depending on its interactors.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 2450-2466
Author(s):  
Mohak Sharda ◽  
Anjana Badrinarayanan ◽  
Aswin Sai Narain Seshasayee

Abstract DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are a threat to genome stability. In all domains of life, DSBs are faithfully fixed via homologous recombination. Recombination requires the presence of an uncut copy of duplex DNA which is used as a template for repair. Alternatively, in the absence of a template, cells utilize error-prone nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ). Although ubiquitously found in eukaryotes, NHEJ is not universally present in bacteria. It is unclear as to why many prokaryotes lack this pathway. Toward understanding what could have led to the current distribution of bacterial NHEJ, we carried out comparative genomics and phylogenetic analysis across ∼6,000 genomes. Our results show that this pathway is sporadically distributed across the phylogeny. Ancestral reconstruction further suggests that NHEJ was absent in the eubacterial ancestor and can be acquired via specific routes. Integrating NHEJ occurrence data for archaea, we also find evidence for extensive horizontal exchange of NHEJ genes between the two kingdoms as well as across bacterial clades. The pattern of occurrence in bacteria is consistent with correlated evolution of NHEJ with key genome characteristics of genome size and growth rate; NHEJ presence is associated with large genome sizes and/or slow growth rates, with the former being the dominant correlate. Given the central role these traits play in determining the ability to carry out recombination, it is possible that the evolutionary history of bacterial NHEJ may have been shaped by requirement for efficient DSB repair.


2002 ◽  
Vol 22 (14) ◽  
pp. 5194-5202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiran N. Mahajan ◽  
Stephanie A. Nick McElhinny ◽  
Beverly S. Mitchell ◽  
Dale A. Ramsden

ABSTRACT Mammalian DNA polymerase μ (pol μ) is related to terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase, but its biological role is not yet clear. We show here that after exposure of cells to ionizing radiation (IR), levels of pol μ protein increase. pol μ also forms discrete nuclear foci after IR, and these foci are largely coincident with IR-induced foci of γH2AX, a previously characterized marker of sites of DNA double-strand breaks. pol μ is thus part of the cellular response to DNA double-strand breaks. pol μ also associates in cell extracts with the nonhomologous end-joining repair factor Ku and requires both Ku and another end-joining factor, XRCC4-ligase IV, to form a stable complex on DNA in vitro. pol μ in turn facilitates both stable recruitment of XRCC4-ligase IV to Ku-bound DNA and ligase IV-dependent end joining. In contrast, the related mammalian DNA polymerase β does not form a complex with Ku and XRCC4-ligase IV and is less effective than pol μ in facilitating joining mediated by these factors. Our data thus support an important role for pol μ in the end-joining pathway for repair of double-strand breaks.


Author(s):  
Muwen Kong ◽  
Eric C. Greene

DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) are among some of the most deleterious forms of DNA damage. Left unrepaired, they are detrimental to genome stability, leading to high risk of cancer. Two major mechanisms are responsible for the repair of DSBs, homologous recombination (HR) and nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ). The complex nature of both pathways, involving a myriad of protein factors functioning in a highly coordinated manner at distinct stages of repair, lend themselves to detailed mechanistic studies using the latest single-molecule techniques. In avoiding ensemble averaging effects inherent to traditional biochemical or genetic methods, single-molecule studies have painted an increasingly detailed picture for every step of the DSB repair processes.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document