The use of a double-marker shuttle vector to study DNA double-strand break repair in wild-type and radiation-sensitive mutants of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Responses of dinoflagellate cells to ultraviolet-C irradiation

Dinoflagellates are important aquatic microbes and major harmful algal bloom (HAB) agents that form invasive species through ship ballast transfer. UV-C installations are recommended for ballast treatments and HAB controls, but there is a lack of knowledge in dinoflagellate responses to UV-C. We report here dose-dependent cell cycle delay and viability loss of dinoflagellate cells irradiated with UV-C, with significant proliferative reduction at 800 Jm^-2 doses or higher, but immediate LD50 was in the range of 2400-3200 Jm^-2 . At higher dosages, some dinoflagellate cells surprisingly survived after days of recovery incubation, and continued viability loss, with samples exhibiting DNA fragmentations per proliferative resumption. Sequential cell cycle postponements, suggesting DNA damages were repaired over one cell cycle, were revealed with flow cytometric analysis and transcriptomic analysis. Over a sustained level of other DNA damage repair pathways, transcript elevation was observed only for several components of base pair repair and mismatch repair. Cumulatively, our findings demonstrated special DNA damage responses in dinoflagellate cells, which we discussed in relation to their unique chromo-genomic characters, as well as indicating resilience of dinoflagellate cells to UV-C.

Ubiquitin family modifications and template switching

Homologous recombination plays an important role in the maintenance of genome integrity. Arrested forks and DNA lesions trigger strand annealing events, called template switching, which can provide for accurate damage bypass, but can also lead to chromosome rearrangements. Advances have been made in understanding the underlying mechanisms for these events and in elucidating the factors involved. Ubiquitin- and SUMO-mediated modification pathways have emerged as key players in regulating damage-induced template switching. Here I review the biological significance of template switching at the nexus of DNA replication and recombination, and the role of ubiquitin-like modifications in mediating and controlling this process.

Accurate repair of non-cohesive, double strand breaks in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: enhancement by homology-assisted end-joining

Although the joining of blunt ends in yeast by non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) is reported to be inefficient in comparison to cohesive-end joining (Boulton and Jackson, 1996), we find that efficiency varies greatly, depending on strain, growth phase and sequence. In particular, the levels of efficiency of recircularization of a plasmid linearized by non-cohesive cleavage is augmented to that of cohesive end joining if the cleavage cut site is flanked by sequences present in the genome. We call this enhancement 'homology-assisted end joining' (HAEJ), which depends on components of the NHEJ repair pathway and, in some cases, on components of the homologous recombination (HR) pathway and on Htl1 a component of the remodels structure of chromatin (RSC) complex. The homologous genome sequences are not used as templates for repair DNA synthesis, but may facilitate end-to-end collision and ligation by providing a track for guided diffusion.

Regulation of double-stranded DNA gap repair by the RAD6 pathway

The RAD6 pathway allows replication across DNA lesions by either an error-prone or error-free mode. Error-prone replication involves translesion polymerases and requires monoubiquitylation at lysine (K) 164 of PCNA by the Rad6 and Rad18 enzymes. By contrast, the error-free bypass is triggered by modification of PCNA by K63-linked polyubiquitin chains, a reaction that requires in addition to Rad6 and Rad18 the enzymes Rad5 and Ubc13-Mms2. Here, we show that the RAD6 pathway is also critical for controlling repair pathways that act on DNA double-strand breaks. By using gapped plasmids as substrates, we found that repair in wild-type cells proceeds almost exclusively by homology-dependent repair (HDR) using chromosomal DNA as a template, whereas non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) is suppressed. In contrast, in cells deficient in PCNA polyubiquitylation, plasmid repair occurs largely by NHEJ. Mutant cells that are completely deficient in PCNA ubiquitylation, repair plasmids by HDR similar to wild-type cells. These findings are consistent with a model in which unmodified PCNA supports HDR, whereas PCNA monoubiquitylation diverts repair to NHEJ, which is suppressed by PCNA polyubiquitylation. More generally, our data suggest that the balance between HDR and NHEJ pathways is crucially controlled by genes of the RAD6 pathway through modifications of PCNA.

Xrs2 facilitates crossovers during DNA double-strand gap repair in yeast

Xrs2 is a member of the MRX complex (Mre11/Rad50/Xrs2) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In this study we demonstrate the important role of the MRX complex and in more detail of Xrs2 for the repair of radiation-induced chromosomal double-strand breaks by pulsed field gel electrophoresis. By using a newly designed in vivo plasmid-chromosome recombination system, we could show that gap repair efficiency and the association with crossovers were reduced in the MRX null mutants, but repair accuracy was unaffected. For these processes, an intact Mre11-binding domain of Xrs2 is crucial, whereas the FHA- and BRCT-domains as well as the Tel1-binding domain of Xrs2 are dispensable. Obviously, the Mre11-binding domain of the Xrs2 protein is crucial for the analysed functions and our results suggest a new role of the MRX complex for the formation of crossovers. Analysis of double mutants showed that the phenotype of the Deltaxrs2 null mutant concerning the crossover frequency is dominant over the phenotypes of Deltasrs2 and Deltasgs1 null mutants. Thus, the complex seems to be involved in early steps of double-strand break and gap repair, and we propose that it has a regulatory role for the selection of homologous recombination pathways.

Cell cycle-dependent protein expression of mammalian homologs of yeast DNA double-strand break repair genes Rad51 and Rad52

Recently, human and rodent homologs of yeast repair genes Rad51 and Rad52 have been identified and proposed to play roles in DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair. In this study, cell cycle-dependent expression of human and rodent RAD51 and RAD52 proteins was monitored using two approaches. First, flow cytometric measurements of DNA content and immunofluorescence were used to determine the phase-specific levels of RAD51 and RAD52 protein expression in irradiated and control populations. The expression of both proteins was lowest in G0/G1, increased in S and reached a maximum in G2/M. No difference was found in the whole-cell level of RAD51 or RAD52 protein expression between gamma-irradiated and control cell populations. Second, cell cycle-dependent protein expression was confirmed by Western analysis of populations synchronized in G0, G1 and G2 phases. Analysis of V3, a hamster equivalent of SCID, indicates that the protein level increases of RAD51 and RAD52 from G0 to G1/S/G2 do not require DNA-PK.

The RAD5 gene product is involved in the avoidance of non-homologous end-joining of DNA double strand breaks in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

In wild-type yeast, the repair of a 169 bp double-strand gap induced by the restriction enzymes ApaI and NcoI in the URA3gene of the shuttle vector YpJA18 occurs with high fidelity according to the homologous chromosomal sequence. In contrast, only 25% of the cells of rad5-7 and rad5 Delta mutants perform correct gap repair. As has been proven by sequencing of the junction sites, the remaining cells recircularise the gapped plasmids by joining of the non-compatible, non-homologous ends. Thus, regarding the repair of DNA double-strand breaks, the rad5 mutants behave like mammalian cells rather than budding yeast. The majority of the end joined plasmids miss either one or both of the 3'and 5'protruding single-strands of the restriction ends completely and have undergone blunt-end ligation accompanied by fill-in DNA synthesis. These results imply an important role for the Rad5 protein (Rad5p) in the protection of protruding single-strand ends and for the avoidance of non-homologous end joining during repair of double-strand gaps in budding yeast. Alternatively, the Rad5p may be an accessory factor increasing the efficiency of homologous recombination in yeast, however, the molecular mechanism of Rad5p function requires further investigation.

A shuttle system for transfer of YACs between yeast and mammalian cells

The development of a system for shuttling DNA cloned as yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs) between yeast and mammalian cells requires that the DNA is maintained as extrachromosomal elements in both cell types. We have recently shown that circular YACs carrying the Epstein-Barr virus origin of plasmid replication (oriP) are maintained as stable, episomal elements in a human kidney cell line constitutively expressing the viral transactivator protein EBNA-1. Here, we demonstrate that a 90-kb episomal YAC can be isolated intact from human cells by a simple alkaline lysis procedure and shuttled back into Saccharomyces cerevisiae by spheroplast transformation. In addition, we demonstrate that the 90-kb YAC can be isolated intact from yeast cells. The ability to shuttle large, intact fragments of DNA between yeast and human cells should provide a powerful tool in the manipulation and analysis of functional regions of mammalian DNA.

Different repair kinetics for short and long DNA double-strand gaps in Saccharomyces cervisiae

The kinetics of recombinational repair of plasmid DNA double-strand breaks (dsb) and gaps (dsg) of different sizes and ends were studied. For this purpose we used the mutant rad54-3 of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which is temperature dependent with respect to genetic recombination and rejoining of dsb/dsg, allowing us to stop these processes by shifting cells to the restrictive temperature. We found that the kinetics of repair of cohesive-ended dsb and small gaps (up to 400 bp) are similar and characterized by two phases separated by a plateau. In contrast, large gap (1.4 kbp) repair proceeds with different kinetics exhibiting only the second phase. We also investigated the repair kinetics of 400 bp gaps introduced into plasmid DNA with and without homology to chromosomal DNA allowing recombinational repair and non-recombinational repair (ligation), respectively. We found that gaps introduced in plasmid sequences homologous to chromosomal DNA are rapidly repaired by recombination. In contrast, recircularization of the gapped plasmid by ligation is as slow and inefficient as ligation of a cohesive-ended dsb. The kinetics of repair of gapped plasmids may be explained by assuming a constitutive level of enzymes responsible for the first phase of recombinational repair, while inducible enzymes, which become available at the end of the plateau, carry out the second phase of repair.

Influence of non-homology between recombining DNA sequences on double-strand break repair in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

In this paper we study the influence of non-homology between plasmid and chromosomal DNA on the efficiency of recombinational repair of plasmid double-strand breaks and gaps in yeast. For this purpose we used different combinations of plasmids and yeast strains carrying various deletions within the yeast LYS2 gene. A 400 bp deletion in plasmid DNA had no effect on recombinational plasmid repair. However, a 400 bp deletion in chromosomal DNA dramatically reduced the efficiency of this repair mechanism, but recombinational repair of plasmids linearized by a double-strand break with cohesive ends still remained the dominant repair process. We have also studied the competition between recombination and ligation in the repair of linearized plasmids. Our experimental evidence suggests that recombinational repair is attempted but aborted if only one recombinogenic end with homology to chromosomal DNA is present in plasmid DNA. This situation results in a decreased probability of non-recombinational (i.e. ligation) repair of linearized plasmid DNA.

Molecular mechanism of potentially lethal damage repair. I. Enhanced fidelity of DNA double-strand break rejoining under conditions allowing potentially lethal damage repair

This study contributes to the elucidation of the molecular mechanism underlying potentially lethal damage (PLD) repair. Repair of DNA double-strand breaks (dsbs) is involved in PLD repair in yeast, i.e. in the enhanced survival of cells due to post-irradiation treatment under non-growth conditions before plating cells on nutrient agar (growth conditions). However, dsbs are rejoined when cells are kept either in non-growth or growth medium. One possibility to explain the enhanced survival of cells after post-irradiation treatment in non-growth medium might be an enhanced fidelity of dsb rejoining under non-growth relative to growth conditions. We have addressed this problem by using a plasmid-mediated assay. Into one of the two selectable plasmid markers a single dsb was introduced by a restriction enzyme. The cut plasmid was transfected into an appropriate yeast mutant. Transformants that had correctly rejoined the dsb were selected on the basis of restoration of the function of the cut gene. The yeast mutant was allowed to rejoin the cut plasmid under either non-growth or growth conditions. The results show that the fidelity of dsb rejoining is higher in cells kept under non-growth relative to growth conditions.