Factors that influence bidirectional long-tract homozygosis due to double-strand break repair in Candida albicans

Genetics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timea Marton ◽  
Murielle Chauvel ◽  
Adeline Feri ◽  
Corinne Maufrais ◽  
Christophe D’enfert ◽  
...  

Abstract Genomic rearrangements have been associated with the acquisition of adaptive phenotypes, allowing organisms to efficiently generate new favorable genetic combinations. The diploid genome of Candida albicans is highly plastic, displaying numerous genomic rearrangements that are often the by-product of the repair of DNA breaks. For example, DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) repair using homologous-recombination pathways are a major source of loss-of-heterozygosity (LOH), observed ubiquitously in both clinical and laboratory strains of C. albicans. Mechanisms such as break-induced replication (BIR) or mitotic crossover (MCO) can result in long tracts of LOH, spanning hundreds of kilobases until the telomere. Analysis of I-SceI-induced BIR/MCO tracts in C. albicans revealed that the homozygosis tracts can ascend several kilobases towards the centromere, displaying homozygosis from the break site towards the centromere. We sought to investigate the molecular mechanisms that could contribute to this phenotype by characterizing a series of C. albicans DNA repair mutants, including pol32-/-, msh2-/-, mph1-/- and mus81-/-. The impact of deleting these genes on genome stability revealed functional differences between Saccharomyces cerevisiae (a model DNA repair organism) and C. albicans. Additionally, we demonstrated that ascending LOH tracts towards the centromere are associated with intrinsic features of BIR and potentially involve the mismatch repair pathway which acts upon natural heterozygous positions. Overall, this mechanistic approach to study LOH deepens our limited characterization of DNA repair pathways in C. albicans and brings forth the notion that centromere proximal alleles from DNA break sites are not guarded from undergoing LOH.

2017 ◽  
Vol 372 (1731) ◽  
pp. 20160284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Surbhi Dhar ◽  
Ozge Gursoy-Yuzugullu ◽  
Ramya Parasuram ◽  
Brendan D. Price

The ability of cells to detect and repair DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) within the complex architecture of the genome requires co-ordination between the DNA repair machinery and chromatin remodelling complexes. This co-ordination is essential to process damaged chromatin and create open chromatin structures which are required for repair. Initially, there is a PARP-dependent recruitment of repressors, including HP1 and several H3K9 methyltransferases, and exchange of histone H2A.Z by the NuA4-Tip60 complex. This creates repressive chromatin at the DSB in which the tail of histone H4 is bound to the acidic patch on the nucleosome surface. These repressor complexes are then removed, allowing rapid acetylation of the H4 tail by Tip60. H4 acetylation blocks interaction between the H4 tail and the acidic patch on adjacent nucleosomes, decreasing inter-nucleosomal interactions and creating open chromatin. Further, the H4 tail is now free to recruit proteins such as 53BP1 to DSBs, a process modulated by H4 acetylation, and provides binding sites for bromodomain proteins, including ZMYND8 and BRD4, which are important for DSB repair. Here, we will discuss how the H4 tail functions as a dynamic hub that can be programmed through acetylation to alter chromatin packing and recruit repair proteins to the break site. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Chromatin modifiers and remodellers in DNA repair and signalling’.


Blood ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 134 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 363-363
Author(s):  
Subodh Kumar ◽  
Leutz Buon ◽  
Srikanth Talluri ◽  
Chengcheng Liao ◽  
Jialan Shi ◽  
...  

Identification of mechanisms underlying genomic instability is necessary to understand disease progression, including development of drug resistance. Our previous data demonstrates that dysregulation of DNA repair and maintenance/modification activities (including homologous recombination (HR), apurinic/apyrimidinic nuclease and APOBEC) significantly contribute to genomic instability in multiple myeloma (MM). However, how these and other pathways involved in genomic instability are dysregulated, remains to be explored. Since kinases play a critical role in the regulation of the maintenance of genomic integrity, we have performed a genome-wide kinome profiling to identify those involved in genomic instability in cancer. First, we analyzed genomic database for ten human cancers (including MM) from TCGA with both tumor cell gene expression and SNP/CGH array-based copy number information for each patient.We assessed genomic instability in each patient based on the total number of amplification and deletion events. We next interrogated all 550 kinases expressed in humans and identified those whose expression correlated with copy number alteration (based on FDR ≤ 0.05) in all tumor types. We identified six kinases whose elevated expression correlated with increased genomic instability defined by genomic amplification/deletion events in all ten cancers, including MM. To demonstrate functional relevance of these kinases, we conducted a CRISPR-based loss of function screen (using 3 guides per gene) in MM cells and evaluated the impact of each gene-knockout on micronuclei, a marker of ongoing genomic rearrangements and instability. For all six kinases, at least one guide resulted in ≥ 65% inhibition of micronuclei formation. Moreover, for five out of the six kinases, at least two guides showed ≥ 60% inhibition of micronuclei. All together, these data establishes a strong relevance of these kinases with genomic instability in MM. PDZ Binding Kinase (PBK) was among top kinases impacting genome stability in this data set with 2 out of 3 guides causing > 88% and 3rdguide causing 35% inhibition of micronuclei formation. We further report that inhibition of PBK, by knockdown or small molecule, inhibits DNA breaks, RAD51 recombinase expression and homologous recombination in MM cells. We further investigated molecular mechanisms involved in PBK-mediated genomic instability in MM. Expression profiling using RNA sequencing of MM cells treated with a specific PBK inhibitor showed that top ten pathways downregulated by treatment were mostly DNA repair/recombination followed by replication and G2/M checkpoint. Interestingly, we identified a notable overlap between PBK-regulated genes with FOXM1 target genes. FOXM1 is a major transcriptional regulator of genes involved in DNA repair, G2/M regulation and chromosomal stability. We, therefore, investigated PBK/FOXM1 interaction and show that PBK interacts with FOXM1 in MM cells. Moreover, the inhibition of PBK, by knockdown or small molecule, inhibits phosphorylation of FOXM1 as well as downregulates FOXM1-regulated HR and cell cycle genes RAD51, EXO1 and CDC25A. These results suggest that PBK-dependent phosphorylation of FOXM1 activity controls transcriptional networks involved in genomic instability in MM. Ongoing work is investigating role of PBK and other kinases in progression of MGUS/SMM to active MM and their impact on ongoing genomic changes with influence on multiple DNA repair pathways including HR. In conclusion, we describe a kinase panel that may have significant role in maintaining genome stability, and their perturbation may allow to improve genome stability in MM. Disclosures Munshi: Adaptive: Consultancy; Amgen: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy; Abbvie: Consultancy; Oncopep: Consultancy; Takeda: Consultancy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qilin Long ◽  
Zhichao Liu ◽  
Monika Gullerova

Genomic integrity is continuously threatened by thousands of endogenous and exogenous damaging factors. To preserve genome stability, cells developed comprehensive DNA damage response (DDR) pathways that mediate the recognition of damaged DNA lesions, the activation of signaling cascades, and the execution of DNA repair. Transcription has been understood to pose a threat to genome stability in the presence of DNA breaks. Interestingly, accumulating evidence in recent years shows that the transient transcriptional activation at DNA double-strand break (DSB) sites is required for efficient repair, while the rest of the genome exhibits temporary transcription silencing. This genomic shut down is a result of multiple signaling cascades involved in the maintenance of DNA/RNA homeostasis, chromatin stability, and genome fidelity. The regulation of transcription of protein-coding genes and non-coding RNAs has been extensively studied; however, the exact regulatory mechanisms of transcription at DSBs remain enigmatic. These complex processes involve many players such as transcription-associated protein complexes, including kinases, transcription factors, chromatin remodeling complexes, and helicases. The damage-derived transcripts themselves also play an essential role in DDR regulation. In this review, we summarize the current findings on the regulation of transcription at DSBs and discussed the roles of various accessory proteins in these processes and consequently in DDR.


2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (39) ◽  
pp. 19593-19599 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory J. Brunette ◽  
Mohd A. Jamalruddin ◽  
Robert A. Baldock ◽  
Nathan L. Clark ◽  
Kara A. Bernstein

DNA repair is critical for genome stability and is maintained through conserved pathways. Traditional genome-wide mammalian screens are both expensive and laborious. However, computational approaches circumvent these limitations and are a powerful tool to identify new DNA repair factors. By analyzing the evolutionary relationships between genes in the major DNA repair pathways, we uncovered functional relationships between individual genes and identified partners. Here we ranked 17,487 mammalian genes for coevolution with 6 distinct DNA repair pathways. Direct comparison to genetic screens for homologous recombination or Fanconi anemia factors indicates that our evolution-based screen is comparable, if not superior, to traditional screening approaches. Demonstrating the utility of our strategy, we identify a role for the DNA damage-induced apoptosis suppressor (DDIAS) gene in double-strand break repair based on its coevolution with homologous recombination. DDIAS knockdown results in DNA double-strand breaks, indicated by ATM kinase activation and 53BP1 foci induction. Additionally, DDIAS-depleted cells are deficient for homologous recombination. Our results reveal that evolutionary analysis is a powerful tool to uncover novel factors and functional relationships in DNA repair.


2013 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 314-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
John K. Blackwood ◽  
Neil J. Rzechorzek ◽  
Sian M. Bray ◽  
Joseph D. Maman ◽  
Luca Pellegrini ◽  
...  

During DNA repair by HR (homologous recombination), the ends of a DNA DSB (double-strand break) must be resected to generate single-stranded tails, which are required for strand invasion and exchange with homologous chromosomes. This 5′–3′ end-resection of the DNA duplex is an essential process, conserved across all three domains of life: the bacteria, eukaryota and archaea. In the present review, we examine the numerous and redundant helicase and nuclease systems that function as the enzymatic analogues for this crucial process in the three major phylogenetic divisions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Biernacka ◽  
Yingjie Zhu ◽  
Magdalena Skrzypczak ◽  
Romain Forey ◽  
Benjamin Pardo ◽  
...  

AbstractMaintenance of genome stability is a key issue for cell fate that could be compromised by chromosome deletions and translocations caused by DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Thus development of precise and sensitive tools for DSBs labeling is of great importance for understanding mechanisms of DSB formation, their sensing and repair. Until now there has been no high resolution and specific DSB detection technique that would be applicable to any cells regardless of their size. Here, we present i-BLESS, a universal method for direct genome-wide DNA double-strand break labeling in cells immobilized in agarose beads. i-BLESS has three key advantages: it is the only unbiased method applicable to yeast, achieves a sensitivity of one break at a given position in 100,000 cells, and eliminates background noise while still allowing for fixation of samples. The method allows detection of ultra-rare breaks such as those forming spontaneously at G-quadruplexes.


2017 ◽  
Vol 372 (1731) ◽  
pp. 20160283 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Daniel Berger ◽  
Fintan K. T. Stanley ◽  
Shaun Moore ◽  
Aaron A. Goodarzi

Ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) is a serine/threonine protein kinase with a master regulatory function in the DNA damage response. In this role, ATM commands a complex biochemical network that signals the presence of oxidative DNA damage, including the dangerous DNA double-strand break, and facilitates subsequent repair. Here, we review the current state of knowledge regarding ATM-dependent chromatin remodelling and epigenomic alterations that are required to maintain genomic integrity in the presence of DNA double-strand breaks and/or oxidative stress. We will focus particularly on the roles of ATM in adjusting nucleosome spacing at sites of unresolved DNA double-strand breaks within complex chromatin environments, and the impact of ATM on preserving the health of cells within the mammalian central nervous system. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Chromatin modifiers and remodellers in DNA repair and signalling’.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judit Jimenez-Sainz ◽  
Joshua Mathew ◽  
Jennifer Garbarino ◽  
Joseph P Eder ◽  
Ryan B Jensen

BRCA2 is a tumor suppressor gene that maintains genome stability by mediating the high fidelity repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) through homology-directed repair (HDR). Pathogenic mutations in BRCA2 predispose to breast, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, and other cancers. Mutations in BRCA2 leading to severe protein truncation predict pathogenicity, however, missense mutations with unknown functional consequences, designated Variants of Uncertain Significance (VUS), comprise 60% of BRCA2 sequence changes deposited in clinical databases. Classifying BRCA2 VUS correctly is critical for relaying clinically actionable information to patients concerning future cancer risk or current treatment options. In this study, we identified and biochemically characterized three BRCA2 VUS located in BRC repeats to determine the impact on canonical HDR functions. Two of the germline variants, S1221P and T1980I, map to conserved residues in BRC2 and BRC7, disrupt RAD51 binding, and are diminished in their ability to stabilize RAD51-ssDNA complexes. We provide supporting cellular evidence that S1221P and T1980I are significantly compromised in their response to chemotherapeutics and ionizing radiation. The third variant, T1346I, lies within the spacer region between BRC2 and BRC3 but remains fully functional. We conclude that T1346I has a neutral impact on BRCA2 function, while S1221P and T1980I are hypomorphic alleles that disrupt the ability of BRCA2 to fully engage and stabilize RAD51 nucleoprotein filaments.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcello Germoglio ◽  
Anna Valenti ◽  
Ines Gallo ◽  
Chiara Forenza ◽  
Pamela Santonicola ◽  
...  

AbstractFanconi Anemia is a rare genetic disease associated with DNA repair defects, congenital abnormalities and infertility. Most of FA pathway is evolutionary conserved, allowing dissection and mechanistic studies in simpler model systems such as Caenorhabditis elegans. In the present study, we employed C. elegans to better understand the role of FA group D2 (FANCD2) protein in vivo, a key player in promoting genome stability. We report that localization of FCD-2/FANCD2 is dynamic during meiotic prophase I and requires its heterodimeric partner FNCI-1/FANCI. Strikingly, we found that FCD-2 recruitment depends on SPO-11-induced double-strand breaks (DSBs) but not RAD-51-mediated strand invasion. Furthermore, exposure to DNA damage-inducing agents boosts FCD-2 recruitment on the chromatin. Finally, analysis of genetic interaction between FCD-2 and BRC-1 (the C. elegans orthologue of mammalian BRCA1) supports a role for these proteins in different DSB repair pathways. Collectively, we showed a direct involvement of FCD-2 at DSBs and speculate on its function in driving meiotic DNA repair.


2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (8) ◽  
pp. 1021-1030 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuejing Yang ◽  
Yedan Lu ◽  
Fuhong He ◽  
Fenxia Hou ◽  
Caihong Xing ◽  
...  

Abstract Benzene, a widespread environmental pollutant, induces DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) and DNA repair, which may further lead to oncogenic mutations, chromosomal rearrangements and leukemogenesis. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying benzene-induced DNA repair and carcinogenesis remain unclear. The human osteosarcoma cell line (U2OS/DR-GFP), which carries a GFP-based homologous recombination (HR) repair reporter, was treated with hydroquinone, one of the major benzene metabolites, to identify the potential effects of benzene on DSB HR repair. RNA-sequencing was further employed to identify the potential key pathway that contributed to benzene-initiated HR repair. We found that treatment with hydroquinone induced a significant increase in HR. NF-κB pathway, which plays a critical role in carcinogenesis in multiple tumors, was significantly activated in cells recovered from hydroquinone treatment. Furthermore, the upregulation of NF-κB by hydroquinone was also found in human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. Notably, the inhibition of NF-κB activity by small molecule inhibitors (QNZ and JSH-23) significantly reduced the frequency of hydroquinone-initiated HR (−1.36- and −1.77-fold, respectively, P < 0.01). Our results demonstrate an important role of NF-κB activity in promoting HR repair induced by hydroquinone. This finding sheds light on the underlying mechanisms involved in benzene-induced genomic instability and leukemogenesis and may contribute to the larger exploration of the influence of other environmental pollutants on carcinogenesis.


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