scholarly journals Structure of the catalytic domain of Mre11 fromChaetomium thermophilum

Author(s):  
Florian Ulrich Seifert ◽  
Katja Lammens ◽  
Karl-Peter Hopfner

Together with the Rad50 ATPase, the Mre11 nuclease forms an evolutionarily conserved protein complex that plays a central role in the repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Mre11–Rad50 detects and processes DNA ends, and has functions in the tethering as well as the signalling of DSBs. The Mre11 dimer can bind one or two DNA ends or hairpins, and processes DNA endonucleolytically as well as exonucleolytically in the 3′-to-5′ direction. Here, the crystal structure of the Mre11 catalytic domain dimer fromChaetomium thermophilum(CtMre11CD) is reported. CtMre11CDcrystals diffracted to 2.8 Å resolution and revealed previously undefined features within the dimer interface, in particular fully ordered eukaryote-specific insertion loops that considerably expand the dimer interface. Furthermore, comparison with other eukaryotic Mre11 structures reveals differences in the conformations of the dimer and the capping domain. In summary, the results reported here provide new insights into the architecture of the eukaryotic Mre11 dimer.

2007 ◽  
Vol 177 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naoya Uematsu ◽  
Eric Weterings ◽  
Ken-ichi Yano ◽  
Keiko Morotomi-Yano ◽  
Burkhard Jakob ◽  
...  

The DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKCS) plays an important role during the repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). It is recruited to DNA ends in the early stages of the nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) process, which mediates DSB repair. To study DNA-PKCS recruitment in vivo, we used a laser system to introduce DSBs in a specified region of the cell nucleus. We show that DNA-PKCS accumulates at DSB sites in a Ku80-dependent manner, and that neither the kinase activity nor the phosphorylation status of DNA-PKCS influences its initial accumulation. However, impairment of both of these functions results in deficient DSB repair and the maintained presence of DNA-PKCS at unrepaired DSBs. The use of photobleaching techniques allowed us to determine that the kinase activity and phosphorylation status of DNA-PKCS influence the stability of its binding to DNA ends. We suggest a model in which DNA-PKCS phosphorylation/autophosphorylation facilitates NHEJ by destabilizing the interaction of DNA-PKCS with the DNA ends.


2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (24) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sucheta Arora ◽  
Rajashree A. Deshpande ◽  
Martin Budd ◽  
Judy Campbell ◽  
America Revere ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Sae2 promotes the repair of DNA double-strand breaks in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The role of Sae2 is linked to the Mre11/Rad50/Xrs2 (MRX) complex, which is important for the processing of DNA ends into single-stranded substrates for homologous recombination. Sae2 has intrinsic endonuclease activity, but the role of this activity has not been assessed independently from its functions in promoting Mre11 nuclease activity. Here we identify and characterize separation-of-function mutants that lack intrinsic nuclease activity or the ability to promote Mre11 endonucleolytic activity. We find that the ability of Sae2 to promote MRX nuclease functions is important for DNA damage survival, particularly in the absence of Dna2 nuclease activity. In contrast, Sae2 nuclease activity is essential for DNA repair when the Mre11 nuclease is compromised. Resection of DNA breaks is impaired when either Sae2 activity is blocked, suggesting roles for both Mre11 and Sae2 nuclease activities in promoting the processing of DNA ends in vivo. Finally, both activities of Sae2 are important for sporulation, indicating that the processing of meiotic breaks requires both Mre11 and Sae2 nuclease activities.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Strecker ◽  
Daniel Durocher

AbstractThe natural ends of chromosomes resemble DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) and telomeres are therefore necessary to prevent recognition by the DNA damage response. The enzyme telomerase can also generate new telomeres at DSBs, resulting in the loss of genetic information distal to the break. How cells deal with different DNA ends is therefore an important decision. One critical point of regulation is to limit telomerase activity at DSBs and this is primarily accomplished in budding yeast by the telomerase inhibitor Pif1. Here we use Pif1 as a sensor to gain insight into the cellular decision at DSB ends with increasing telomeric character. We uncover a striking transition point in which 34 bp of telomeric (TG1-3)n repeat sequence is sufficient to render a DNA end insensitive to Pif1, thereby facilitating extension by telomerase. This phenomenon is unlikely to be due to Pif1 modification and we propose that Cdc13 confers a unique property to the TG34 end that prevents Pif1 action. We identify novel Cdc13 mutations that resensitize DNA ends to Pif1 and discover that many Cdc13 telomerase-null mutations are dependent on Pif1 status. Finally, the observed threshold of Pif1 activity recapitulates several properties of both DSBs and telomeres and we propose that this is the dividing line between these entities.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 1609-1619 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qian Wu

Non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) is a major repair pathway for DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), which is the most toxic DNA damage in cells. Unrepaired DSBs can cause genome instability, tumorigenesis or cell death. DNA end synapsis is the first and probably the most important step of the NHEJ pathway, aiming to bring two broken DNA ends close together and provide structural stability for end processing and ligation. This process is mediated through a group of NHEJ proteins forming higher-order complexes, to recognise and bridge two DNA ends. Spatial and temporal understanding of the structural mechanism of DNA-end synapsis has been largely advanced through recent structural and single-molecule studies of NHEJ proteins. This review focuses on core NHEJ proteins that mediate DNA end synapsis through their unique structures and interaction properties, as well as how they play roles as anchor and linker proteins during the process of ‘bridge over troubled ends'.


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 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Humberto Cisneros ◽  
Kimberly J Bussey ◽  
Charles Vasque

The clustering of mutations observed in cancer cells is reminiscent of the stress-induced mutagenesis (SIM) response in bacteria. SIM employs error-prone polymerases resulting in mutations concentrated around DNA double-strand breaks with an abundance that decays with genomic distance. We performed a quantitative study on single nucleotide variant calls for whole-genome sequencing data from 1950 tumors and non-inherited mutations from 129 normal samples. We introduce statistical methods to identify mutational clusters and quantify their distribution pattern. Our results show that mutations in both normal and cancer samples are indeed clustered and have shapes indicative of SIM. We found the genomic locations of groups of close mutations are more likely to be prevalent across normal samples than in cancer suggesting loss of regulation over the mutational process during carcinogenesis.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Infantino ◽  
Evelina Tutucci ◽  
Noël Yeh Martin ◽  
Audrey Zihlmann ◽  
Varinia García-Molinero ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTYra1 is an mRNA export adaptor involved in mRNA biogenesis and export in S. cerevisiae. Yra1 overexpression was recently shown to promote accumulation of DNA:RNA hybrids favoring DNA double strand breaks (DSB), cell senescence and telomere shortening, via an unknown mechanism. Yra1 was also identified at an HO-induced DSB and Yra1 depletion causes defects in DSB repair. Previous work from our laboratory showed that Yra1 ubiquitination by Tom1 is important for mRNA export. Interestingly, we found that Yra1 is also ubiquitinated by the SUMO-targeted ubiquitin ligases Slx5-Slx8 implicated in the interaction of irreparable DSB with nuclear pores. Here we show that Yra1 binds an HO-induced irreparable DSB. Importantly, a Yra1 mutant lacking the evolutionarily conserved C-box is not recruited to an HO-induced irreparable DSB and becomes lethal under DSB induction in a HO-cut reparable system. Together, the data provide evidence that Yra1 plays a crucial role in DSB repair via homologous recombination. Unexpectedly, while the Yra1 C-box is essential, Yra1 sumoylation and/or ubiquitination are dispensable in this process.


2021 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 285-307
Author(s):  
Petr Cejka ◽  
Lorraine S. Symington

DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are cytotoxic lesions that threaten genome integrity and cell viability. Typically, cells repair DSBs by either nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) or homologous recombination (HR). The relative use of these two pathways depends on many factors, including cell cycle stage and the nature of the DNA ends. A critical determinant of repair pathway selection is the initiation of 5′→3′ nucleolytic degradation of DNA ends, a process referred to as DNA end resection. End resection is essential to create single-stranded DNA overhangs, which serve as the substrate for the Rad51 recombinase to initiate HR and are refractory to NHEJ repair. Here, we review recent insights into the mechanisms of end resection, how it is regulated, and the pathological consequences of its dysregulation.


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 5 (1) ◽  
pp. eaau9780 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qianting Zhang ◽  
Shu-Yan Ji ◽  
Kiran Busayavalasa ◽  
Chao Yu

Segregation of homologous chromosomes in meiosis I is tightly regulated by their physical links, or crossovers (COs), generated from DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) through meiotic homologous recombination. In budding yeast, three ZMM (Zip1/2/3/4, Mer3, Msh4/5) proteins, Zip2, Zip4, and Spo16, form a “ZZS” complex, functioning to promote meiotic recombination via a DSB repair pathway. Here, we identified the mammalian ortholog of Spo16, termed SPO16, which interacts with the mammalian ortholog of Zip2 (SHOC1/MZIP2), and whose functions are evolutionarily conserved to promote the formation of COs. SPO16 localizes to the recombination nodules, as SHOC1 and TEX11 do. SPO16 is required for stabilization of SHOC1 and proper localization of other ZMM proteins. The DSBs formed in SPO16-deleted meiocytes were repaired without COs formation, although synapsis is less affected. Therefore, formation of SPO16-SHOC1 complex–associated recombination intermediates is a key step facilitating meiotic recombination that produces COs from yeast to mammals.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document