scholarly journals Processing of DNA prior to illegitimate recombination in mouse cells.

1997 ◽  
Vol 17 (7) ◽  
pp. 3779-3785 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Henderson ◽  
J P Simons
Keyword(s):  
Homologous Recombination ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Embryonic Stem ◽  
Illegitimate Recombination ◽  
Strand Bias ◽  
Dna Breaks ◽  
Exogenous Dna ◽  
Double Strand Dna Breaks ◽  
Mouse Cells ◽  
Exonuclease Digestion

In mammalian cells, the predominant pathway of chromosomal integration of exogenous DNA is random or illegitimate recombination; integration by homologous recombination is infrequent. Homologous recombination is initiated at double-strand DNA breaks which have been acted on by single-strand exonuclease. To further characterize the relationship between illegitimate and homologous recombination, we have investigated whether illegitimate recombination is also preceded by exonuclease digestion. Heteroduplex DNAs which included strand-specific restriction markers at each of four positions were generated. These DNAs were introduced into mouse embryonic stem cells, and stably transformed clones were isolated and analyzed to determine whether there was any strand bias in the retention of restriction markers with respect to their positions. Some of the mismatches appear to have been resolved by mismatch repair. Very significant strand bias was observed in the retention of restriction markers, and there was polarity of marker retention between adjacent positions. We conclude that DNA is frequently subjected to 5'-->3' exonuclease digestion prior to integration by illegitimate recombination and that the length of DNA removed by exonuclease digestion can be extensive. We also provide evidence which suggests that frequent but less extensive 3'-->5' exonuclease processing also occurs.

scholarly journals DNA barcoding reveals that injected transgenes are predominantly processed by homologous recombination in mouse zygote

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Smirnov ◽  
Veniamin Fishman ◽  
Anastasia Yunusova ◽  
Alexey Korablev ◽  
Irina Serova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Homologous Recombination ◽  
Single Molecule ◽  
Strand Break ◽  
Dna Molecules ◽  
Dna Breaks ◽  
Exogenous Dna ◽  
Transgenic Organisms ◽  
Double Strand Dna Breaks ◽  
Strand Annealing ◽  
Transgenic Embryos

Abstract Mechanisms that ensure repair of double-strand DNA breaks (DSBs) are instrumental in the integration of foreign DNA into the genome of transgenic organisms. After pronuclear microinjection, exogenous DNA is usually found as a concatemer comprising multiple co-integrated transgene copies. Here, we investigated the contribution of various DSB repair pathways to the concatemer formation. We injected mouse zygotes with a pool of linear DNA molecules carrying unique barcodes at both ends and obtained 10 transgenic embryos with 1–300 transgene copies. Sequencing the barcodes allowed us to assign relative positions to the copies in concatemers and detect recombination events that occurred during integration. Cumulative analysis of approximately 1,000 integrated copies reveals that over 80% of them underwent recombination when their linear ends were processed by synthesis-dependent strand annealing (SDSA) or double-strand break repair (DSBR). We also observed evidence of double Holliday junction (dHJ) formation and crossing over during the concatemer formations. Sequencing indels at the junctions between copies shows that at least 10% of DNA molecules introduced into the zygotes are ligated by non-homologous end joining (NHEJ). Our barcoding approach, verified with Pacific Biosciences Single Molecule Real-Time (SMRT) long-range sequencing, documents high activity of homologous recombination after DNA microinjection.

scholarly journals Gene Conversion Tracts from Double-Strand Break Repair in Mammalian Cells

1998 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beth Elliott ◽  
Christine Richardson ◽  
Jamie Winderbaum ◽  
Jac A. Nickoloff ◽  
Maria Jasin
Keyword(s):  
Homologous Recombination ◽  
Gene Conversion ◽  
Gene Targeting ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Embryonic Stem ◽  
Sequence Divergence ◽  
Recombinational Repair ◽  
Exogenous Dna ◽  
Extensive Degradation ◽  
Recombination Gene

ABSTRACT Mammalian cells are able to repair chromosomal double-strand breaks (DSBs) both by homologous recombination and by mechanisms that require little or no homology. Although spontaneous homologous recombination is rare, DSBs will stimulate recombination by 2 to 3 orders of magnitude when homology is provided either from exogenous DNA in gene-targeting experiments or from a repeated chromosomal sequence. Using a gene-targeting assay in mouse embryonic stem cells, we now investigate the effect of heterology on recombinational repair of DSBs. Cells were cotransfected with an endonuclease expression plasmid to induce chromosomal DSBs and with substrates containing up to 1.2% heterology from which to repair the DSBs. We find that heterology decreases the efficiency of recombinational repair, with 1.2% sequence divergence resulting in an approximately sixfold reduction in recombination. Gene conversion tract lengths were examined in 80 recombinants. Relatively short gene conversion tracts were observed, with 80% of the recombinants having tracts of 58 bp or less. These results suggest that chromosome ends in mammalian cells are generally protected from extensive degradation prior to recombination. Gene conversion tracts that were long (up to 511 bp) were continuous, i.e., they contained an uninterrupted incorporation of the silent mutations. This continuity suggests that these long tracts arose from extensive degradation of the ends or from formation of heteroduplex DNA which is corrected with a strong bias in the direction of the unbroken strand.

scholarly journals Target frequency and integration pattern for insertion and replacement vectors in embryonic stem cells

1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 4509-4517
Author(s):  
P Hasty ◽  
J Rivera-Pérez ◽  
C Chang ◽  
A Bradley
Keyword(s):  
Homologous Recombination ◽  
Gene Targeting ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Germ Line ◽  
Es Cells ◽  
Embryonic Stem ◽  
Homologous Sequence ◽  
Reciprocal Recombination ◽  
Replacement Vector ◽  
Insertion Vector

Gene targeting has been used to direct mutations into specific chromosomal loci in murine embryonic stem (ES) cells. The altered locus can be studied in vivo with chimeras and, if the mutated cells contribute to the germ line, in their offspring. Although homologous recombination is the basis for the widely used gene targeting techniques, to date, the mechanism of homologous recombination between a vector and the chromosomal target in mammalian cells is essentially unknown. Here we look at the nature of gene targeting in ES cells by comparing an insertion vector with replacement vectors that target hprt. We found that the insertion vector targeted up to ninefold more frequently than a replacement vector with the same length of homologous sequence. We also observed that the majority of clones targeted with replacement vectors did not recombine as predicted. Analysis of the recombinant structures showed that the external heterologous sequences were often incorporated into the target locus. This observation can be explained by either single reciprocal recombination (vector insertion) of a recircularized vector or double reciprocal recombination/gene conversion (gene replacement) of a vector concatemer. Thus, single reciprocal recombination of an insertion vector occurs 92-fold more frequently than double reciprocal recombination of a replacement vector with crossover junctions on both the long and short arms.

Escherichia coli and colorectal cancer: Unfolding the enigmatic relationship

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rogayeh Nouri ◽  
Alka Hasani ◽  
Kourosh Masnadi Shirazi ◽  
Mohammad Reza Aliand ◽  
Bita Sepehri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Colorectal Cancer ◽  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Chromosomal Rearrangements ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Dna Breaks ◽  
Colon Cells ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Dna Mismatch ◽  
Double Strand Dna Breaks

: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the deadliest cancers in the world. Specific strains of intestinal Escherichia coli (E. coli) may influence the initiation and development of CRC by exploiting virulence factors and inflammatory pathways. Mucosa-associated E. coli strains are more prevalent in CRC biopsies in comparison to healthy controls. Moreover, these strains can survive and replicate within macrophages and induce a pro-inflammatory response. Chronic exposure to inflammatory mediators can lead to increased cell proliferation and cancer. Production of colobactin toxin by the majority of mucosa-associated E. coli isolated from CRC patients is another notable finding. Colibactin-producing E. coli strains, in particular, induce double-strand DNA breaks, stop the cell cycle, involve in chromosomal rearrangements of mammalian cells and are implicated in carcinogenic effects in animal models. Moreover, some enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) strains are able to survive and replicate in colon cells as chronic intracellular pathogens and may promote susceptibility to CRC by downregulation of DNA Mismatch Repair (MMR) proteins. In this review, we discuss current evidence and focus on the mechanisms by which E. coli can influence the development of CRC.

scholarly journals Chromosomal double-strand breaks induce gene conversion at high frequency in mammalian cells.

1997 ◽  
Vol 17 (11) ◽  
pp. 6386-6393 ◽  
Author(s):  
D G Taghian ◽  
J A Nickoloff
Keyword(s):  
Homologous Recombination ◽  
Gene Conversion ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Chinese Hamster ◽  
Double Strand Breaks ◽  
Chromosomal Dna ◽  
Exogenous Dna ◽  
Strand Breaks ◽  
Conversion Tract

Double-strand breaks (DSBs) stimulate chromosomal and extrachromosomal recombination and gene targeting. Transcription also stimulates spontaneous recombination by an unknown mechanism. We used Saccharomyces cerevisiae I-SceI to stimulate recombination between neo direct repeats in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell chromosomal DNA. One neo allele was controlled by the dexamethasone-inducible mouse mammary tumor virus promoter and inactivated by an insertion containing an I-SceI site at which DSBs were introduced in vivo. The other neo allele lacked a promoter but carried 12 phenotypically silent single-base mutations that create restriction sites (restriction fragment length polymorphisms). This system allowed us to generate detailed conversion tract spectra for recipient alleles transcribed at high or low levels. Transient in vivo expression of I-SceI increased homologous recombination 2,000- to 10,000-fold, yielding recombinants at frequencies as high as 1%. Strikingly, 97% of these products arose by gene conversion. Most products had short, bidirectional conversion tracts, and in all cases, donor neo alleles (i.e., those not suffering a DSB) remained unchanged, indicating that conversion was fully nonreciprocal. DSBs in exogenous DNA are usually repaired by end joining requiring little or no homology or by nonconservative homologous recombination (single-strand annealing). In contrast, we show that chromosomal DSBs are efficiently repaired via conservative homologous recombination, principally gene conversion without associated crossing over. For DSB-induced events, similar recombination frequencies and conversion tract spectra were found under conditions of low and high transcription. Thus, transcription does not further stimulate DSB-induced recombination, nor does it appear to affect the mechanism(s) by which DSBs induce gene conversion.

scholarly journals Inhibition of the ATR kinase enhances 5-FU sensitivity independently of nonhomologous end-joining and homologous recombination repair pathways

2020 ◽  
Vol 295 (37) ◽  
pp. 12946-12961
Author(s):  
Soichiro S. Ito ◽  
Yosuke Nakagawa ◽  
Masaya Matsubayashi ◽  
Yoshihiko M. Sakaguchi ◽  
Shinko Kobashigawa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Homologous Recombination ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Cell Cycle Checkpoint ◽  
Nonhomologous End Joining ◽  
Homologous Recombination Repair ◽  
Dna Breaks ◽  
End Joining ◽  
Nucleotide Synthesis ◽  
Recombination Repair ◽  
Repair Pathways

The anticancer agent 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is cytotoxic and often used to treat various cancers. 5-FU is thought to inhibit the enzyme thymidylate synthase, which plays a role in nucleotide synthesis and has been found to induce single- and double-strand DNA breaks. ATR Ser/Thr kinase (ATR) is a principal kinase in the DNA damage response and is activated in response to UV– and chemotherapeutic drug–induced DNA replication stress, but its role in cellular responses to 5-FU is unclear. In this study, we examined the effect of ATR inhibition on 5-FU sensitivity of mammalian cells. Using immunoblotting, we found that 5-FU treatment dose-dependently induced the phosphorylation of ATR at the autophosphorylation site Thr-1989 and thereby activated its kinase. Administration of 5-FU with a specific ATR inhibitor remarkably decreased cell survival, compared with 5-FU treatment combined with other major DNA repair kinase inhibitors. Of note, the ATR inhibition enhanced induction of DNA double-strand breaks and apoptosis in 5-FU–treated cells. Using gene expression analysis, we found that 5-FU induced the activation of the intra-S cell-cycle checkpoint. Cells lacking BRCA2 were sensitive to 5-FU in the presence of ATR inhibitor. Moreover, ATR inhibition enhanced the efficacy of the 5-FU treatment, independently of the nonhomologous end-joining and homologous recombination repair pathways. These findings suggest that ATR could be a potential therapeutic target in 5-FU–based chemotherapy.

scholarly journals Plasmids containing mouse rDNA do not recombine with cellular ribosomal genes when introduced into cultured mouse cells.

1984 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 576-582 ◽  
Author(s):  
R E Steele ◽  
A H Bakken ◽  
R H Reeder
Keyword(s):  
Homologous Recombination ◽  
Host Cell ◽  
Thymidine Kinase ◽  
Cell Lines ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Gene Clusters ◽  
Rrna Genes ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Kinase Gene ◽  
Mouse Cells

We have examined the fate of plasmids containing a segment of a mouse rDNA repeat after they were introduced by transfection into cultured mouse cells. In addition to the rDNA segment, the plasmids contained the thymidine kinase gene from herpes simplex virus 1 to allow for selection of the plasmid after transfection into thymidine kinase-deficient mouse cells. Thus far, no cases of homologous recombination between transfected plasmid DNAs and host cell sequences have been documented. We reasoned that the high repetition frequency of the rRNA genes in the mouse genome (200 copies per diploid cell) might create a favorable situation for obtaining homologous recombination events between the plasmids containing rDNA and host cell rDNA sequences. The plasmids were introduced into cells in both the presence and the absence of carrier DNA and both as covalently closed circles and linear molecules. The sites of plasmid integration in the genomes of various cell lines were examined by DNA restriction digests and hybridization, molecular cloning, and nuclear fractionation. In the seven cell lines examined, there was no evidence that the plasmids had integrated into the rRNA gene clusters of the cell. Thus, the apparent absence of site-specific integration of cloned DNAs introduced into mammalian cells does not appear to be due simply to the small target presented by most host cell sequences.

scholarly journals DNA barcoding reveals that injected transgenes are predominantly processed by homologous recombination in mouse zygote

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Smirnov ◽  
Anastasia Yunusova ◽  
Alexey Korablev ◽  
Irina Serova ◽  
Veniamin Fishman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Homologous Recombination ◽  
Dna Molecules ◽  
Dna Breaks ◽  
End Joining ◽  
Exogenous Dna ◽  
Transgenic Organisms ◽  
Mouse Zygote ◽  
Non Homologous End Joining ◽  
Transgenic Embryos ◽  
Double Holliday Junction

AbstractMechanisms that ensure repair of double-stranded DNA breaks play a key role in the integration of foreign DNA into the genome of transgenic organisms. After pronuclear microinjection, exogenous DNA is usually found in the form of concatemer consisting of multiple co-integrated transgene copies. Here we investigated contribution of various DSB repair pathways to the concatemer formation. We injected a pool of linear DNA molecules carrying unique barcodes at both ends into mouse zygotes and obtained 10 transgenic embryos with transgene copy number ranging from 1 to 300 copies. Sequencing of the barcodes allowed us to assign relative positions to the copies in concatemers and to detect recombination events that happened during integration. Cumulative analysis of approximately 1000 integrated copies revealed that more than 80% of copies underwent recombination when their linear ends were processed by SDSA or DSBR. We also observed evidence of double Holliday junction (dHJ) formation and crossing-over during the formation of concatemers. Additionally, sequencing of indels between copies showed that at least 10% of the DNA molecules introduced into the zygote are ligated by non-homologous end joining (NHEJ). Our barcoding approach documents high activity of homologous recombination after exogenous DNA injection in mouse zygote.

scholarly journals 331 MODIFIED SINGLE-STRANDED OLIGONUCLEOTIDE-RECOMBINASE COMPLEX MEDIATES GENE TARGETING IN MOUSE EMBRYOS

2005 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 316
Author(s):  
J.H. Kang ◽  
J.Y. Won ◽  
H. Shim
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Embryonic Stem Cells ◽  
Homologous Recombination ◽  
Gene Targeting ◽  
Target Gene ◽  
Stop Codon ◽  
Embryonic Stem ◽  
Hprt Gene ◽  
Exogenous Dna ◽  
Single Stranded Oligonucleotide

Gene targeting is an in situ manipulation of an endogenous gene in a precise manner by the introduction of exogenous DNA. The process of gene targeting involves a homologous recombination reaction between the targeted genomic sequence and an exogenous targeting vector. In elucidating the function of many genes, gene targeting has become the most important method of choice. Conventional gene targeting has been achieved through the use of embryonic stem cells. However, such a procedure is often long, tedious, and expensive and has been limited in the mouse only due to a lack of usable embryonic stem cells in other species. This study was carried out to develop a much simplified procedure of gene targeting using E. coli recombinase recA and modified single-stranded oligonucleotides. The new procedure was attempted to modify X-linked hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) gene. The single-stranded oligonucleotide to target exon 3 of HPRT was 74 bases in length and included three phosphorothioate linkages at each terminus (also known as S-oligo) so as to be resistant against exonucleases when introduced into zygotes. The oligonucleotide sequence was homologous to the target gene except for a single nucleotide that induces a mismatch between the introduced oligonucleotide and endogenous HPRT gene. Although the exact mechanism is yet unknown, endogenous repairing of such a mismatch would give rise to the conversion of TAT to TAG stop codon, thereby losing the function of the target gene. Prior to an introduction into zygotes, modified single-stranded oligonucleotides were preincubated with recA recombinase to enhance the homologous recombination. The recA-oligonucleotide complex was microinjected into the pronuclei of zygotes. Individual microinjected embryos that developed to the blastocyst stage were analyzed for the expected nucleotide conversion using PCR and subsequent sequencing. The conversion of TAT to TAG stop codon was confirmed in two embryos among forty tested blastocysts, so that the frequency of gene targeting was approximately 5%. The result suggests that the gene targeting was feasible by this relatively easier direct method. Subsequent transfer of gene-targeted embryos to recipients to obtain transgenic mice missing the function of HPRT gene is underway. Further technical refinement and enhancement of homologous recombination frequency will be required for the practical use of this new approach for gene targeting in mice.

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