Links between replication and recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: a hypersensitive requirement for homologous recombination in the absence of Rad27 activity

Profiling the compendium of changes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae due to mutations that alter availability of the main methyl donor S-Adenosylmethionine

The SAM1 and SAM2 genes encode for S-Adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) synthetase enzymes, with AdoMet serving as the main cellular methyl donor. We have previously shown that independent deletion of these genes alters chromosome stability and AdoMet concentrations in opposite ways in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. To characterize other changes occurring in these mutants, we grew wildtype, sam1Δ/sam1Δ, and sam2Δ/sam2Δ strains in 15 different Phenotypic Microarray plates with different components and measured growth variations. RNA-Sequencing was also carried out on these strains and differential gene expression determined for each mutant. We explored how the phenotypic growth differences are linked to the altered gene expression, and hypothesize mechanisms by which loss of the SAM genes and subsequent AdoMet level changes, impact pathways and processes. We present 6 stories, discussing changes in sensitivity or resistance to azoles, cisplatin, oxidative stress, arginine biosynthesis perturbations, DNA synthesis inhibitors, and tamoxifen, to demonstrate the power of this novel methodology to broadly profile changes due to gene mutations. The large number of conditions that result in altered growth, as well as the large number of differentially expressed genes with wide-ranging functionality, speaks to the broad array of impacts that altering methyl donor abundance can impart. Our findings demonstrate that some cellular changes are directly related to AdoMet-dependent methyltransferases and AdoMet availability, some are directly linked to the methyl cycle and its role in production of several important cellular components, and others reveal impacts of SAM gene mutations on previously unconnected pathways.

Profiling The Compendium Of Changes In Saccharomyces cerevisiae Due To Mutations That Alter Availability Of The Main Methyl Donor S-Adenosylmethionine

The SAM1 and SAM2 genes encode for S-AdenosylMethionine (AdoMet) synthetase enzymes, with AdoMet serving as the main methyl donor. We have previously shown that independent deletion of these genes alters chromosome stability and AdoMet concentrations in opposite ways in S. cerevisiae. To characterize other changes occurring in these mutants, we grew wildtype, sam1∆/sam1∆, and sam2∆/sam2∆ strains in 15 different Phenotypic Microarray plates with different components, equal to 1440 wells, and measured for growth variations. RNA-Sequencing was also carried out on these strains and differential gene expression determined for each mutant. In this study, we explore how the phenotypic growth differences are linked to the altered gene expression, and thereby predict the mechanisms by which loss of the SAM genes and subsequent AdoMet level changes, impact S. cerevisiae pathways and processes. We present six stories, discussing changes in sensitivity or resistance to azoles, cisplatin, oxidative stress, arginine biosynthesis perturbations, DNA synthesis inhibitors, and tamoxifen, to demonstrate the power of this novel methodology to broadly profile changes due to gene mutations. The large number of conditions that result in altered growth, as well as the large number of differentially expressed genes with wide-ranging functionality, speaks to the broad array of impacts that altering methyl donor abundance can impart, even when the conditions tested were not specifically selected as targeting known methyl involving pathways. Our findings demonstrate that some cellular changes are directly related to AdoMet-dependent methyltransferases and AdoMet availability, some are directly linked to the methyl cycle and its role is production of several important cellular components, and others reveal impacts of SAM gene mutations on previously unconnected pathways.

Reliance of Host-Encoded Regulators of Retromobility on Ty1 Promoter Activity or Architecture

The Ty1 retrotransposon family is maintained in a functional but dormant state by its host, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Several hundred RHF and RTT genes encoding co-factors and restrictors of Ty1 retromobility, respectively, have been identified. Well-characterized examples include MED3 and MED15, encoding subunits of the Mediator transcriptional co-activator complex; control of retromobility by Med3 and Med15 requires the Ty1 promoter in the U3 region of the long terminal repeat. To characterize the U3-dependence of other Ty1 regulators, we screened a library of 188 known rhf and rtt mutants for altered retromobility of Ty1his3AI expressed from the strong, TATA-less TEF1 promoter or the weak, TATA-containing U3 promoter. Two classes of genes, each including both RHFs and RTTs, were identified. The first class comprising 82 genes that regulated Ty1his3AI retromobility independently of U3 is enriched for RHF genes that restrict the G1 phase of the cell cycle and those involved in transcriptional elongation and mRNA catabolism. The second class of 51 genes regulated retromobility of Ty1his3AI driven only from the U3 promoter. Nineteen U3-dependent regulators (U3DRs) also controlled retromobility of Ty1his3AI driven by the weak, TATA-less PSP2 promoter, suggesting reliance on the low activity of U3. Thirty-one U3DRs failed to modulate P_PSP2-Ty1his3AI retromobility, suggesting dependence on the architecture of U3. To further investigate the U3-dependency of Ty1 regulators, we developed a novel fluorescence-based assay to monitor expression of p22-Gag, a restriction factor expressed from the internal Ty1i promoter. Many U3DRs had minimal effects on levels of Ty1 RNA, Ty1i RNA or p22-Gag. These findings uncover a role for the Ty1 promoter in integrating signals from diverse host factors to modulate Ty1 RNA biogenesis or fate.

RNA-cDNA hybrids mediate transposition via different mechanisms

Retrotransposons can represent half of eukaryotic genomes. Retrotransposon dysregulation destabilizes genomes and has been linked to various human diseases. Emerging regulators of retromobility include RNA–DNA hybrid-containing structures known as R-loops. Accumulation of these structures at the transposons of yeast 1 (Ty1) elements has been shown to increase Ty1 retromobility through an unknown mechanism. Here, via a targeted genetic screen, we identified the rnh1Δ rad27Δ yeast mutant, which lacked both the Ty1 inhibitor Rad27 and the RNA–DNA hybrid suppressor Rnh1. The mutant exhibited elevated levels of Ty1 cDNA-associated RNA–DNA hybrids that promoted Ty1 mobility. Moreover, in this rnh1Δ rad27Δ mutant, but not in the double RNase H mutant rnh1Δ rnh201Δ, RNA–DNA hybrids preferentially existed as duplex nucleic acid structures and increased Ty1 mobility in a Rad52-dependent manner. The data indicate that in cells lacking RNA–DNA hybrid and Ty1 repressors, elevated levels of RNA-cDNA hybrids, which are associated with duplex nucleic acid structures, boost Ty1 mobility via a Rad52-dependent mechanism. In contrast, in cells lacking RNA–DNA hybrid repressors alone, elevated levels of RNA-cDNA hybrids, which are associated with triplex nucleic acid structures, boost Ty1 mobility via a Rad52-independent process. We propose that duplex and triplex RNA–DNA hybrids promote transposon mobility via Rad52-dependent or -independent mechanisms.

FEN1 endonuclease as a therapeutic target for human cancers with defects in homologous recombination

Synthetic lethality strategies for cancer therapy exploit cancer-specific genetic defects to identify targets that are uniquely essential to the survival of tumor cells. Here we show RAD27/FEN1, which encodes flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1), a structure-specific nuclease with roles in DNA replication and repair, and has the greatest number of synthetic lethal interactions with Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome instability genes, is a druggable target for an inhibitor-based approach to kill cancers with defects in homologous recombination (HR). The vulnerability of cancers with HR defects to FEN1 loss was validated by studies showing that small-molecule FEN1 inhibitors and FEN1 small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) selectively killed BRCA1- and BRCA2-defective human cell lines. Furthermore, the differential sensitivity to FEN1 inhibition was recapitulated in mice, where a small-molecule FEN1 inhibitor reduced the growth of tumors established from drug-sensitive but not drug-resistant cancer cell lines. FEN1 inhibition induced a DNA damage response in both sensitive and resistant cell lines; however, sensitive cell lines were unable to recover and replicate DNA even when the inhibitor was removed. Although FEN1 inhibition activated caspase to higher levels in sensitive cells, this apoptotic response occurred in p53-defective cells and cell killing was not blocked by a pan-caspase inhibitor. These results suggest that FEN1 inhibitors have the potential for therapeutically targeting HR-defective cancers such as those resulting from BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations, and other genetic defects.

Gene Expression Noise Produces Cell-to-Cell Heterogeneity in Eukaryotic Homologous Recombination Rate

Variation in gene expression among genetically identical individual cells (called gene expression noise) directly contributes to phenotypic diversity. Whether such variation can impact genome stability and lead to variation in genotype remains poorly explored. We addressed this question by investigating whether noise in the expression of genes affecting homologous recombination (HR) activity either directly (RAD52) or indirectly (RAD27) confers cell-to-cell heterogeneity in HR rate in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Using cell sorting to isolate subpopulations with various expression levels, we show that spontaneous HR rate is highly heterogeneous from cell-to-cell in clonal populations depending on the cellular amount of proteins affecting HR activity. Phleomycin-induced HR is even more heterogeneous, showing that RAD27 expression variation strongly affects the rate of recombination from cell-to-cell. Strong variations in HR rate between subpopulations are not correlated to strong changes in cell cycle stage. Moreover, this heterogeneity occurs even when simultaneously sorting cells at equal expression level of another gene involved in DNA damage response (BMH1) that is upregulated by DNA damage, showing that the initiating DNA damage is not responsible for the observed heterogeneity in HR rate. Thus gene expression noise seems mainly responsible for this phenomenon. Finally, HR rate non-linearly scales with Rad27 levels showing that total amount of HR cannot be explained solely by the time- or population-averaged Rad27 expression. Altogether, our data reveal interplay between heterogeneity at the gene expression and genetic levels in the production of phenotypic diversity with evolutionary consequences from microbial to cancer cell populations.

Uncoupling Sae2 Functions in Downregulation of Tel1 and Rad53 Signaling Activities

The Mre11-Rad50-Xrs2 (MRX) complex acts together with the Sae2 protein to initiate resection of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) and to regulate a checkpoint response that couples cell cycle progression with DSB repair. Sae2 supports resistance to DNA damage and downregulates the signaling activities of MRX, Tel1, and Rad53 checkpoint proteins at the sites of damage. How these functions are connected to each other is not known. Here, we describe the separation-of-function sae2-ms mutant that, similar to SAE2 deletion, upregulates MRX and Tel1 signaling activities at DSBs by reducing Mre11 endonuclease activity. However, unlike SAE2 deletion, Sae2-ms causes neither DNA damage sensitivity nor enhanced Rad53 activation, indicating that DNA damage resistance depends mainly on Sae2-mediated Rad53 inhibition. The lack of Sae2, but not the presence of Sae2-ms, impairs long-range resection and increases both Rad9 accumulation at DSBs and Rad53-Rad9 interaction independently of Mre11 nuclease activity. Altogether, these data lead to a model whereby Sae2 plays distinct functions in limiting MRX-Tel1 and Rad9 abundance at DSBs, with the control on Rad9 association playing the major role in supporting DNA damage resistance and in regulating long-range resection and checkpoint activation.

Multifunctional roles of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Srs2 protein in replication, recombination and repair

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae Srs2 DNA helicase has important roles in DNA replication, recombination and repair. In replication, Srs2 aids in repair of gaps by repair synthesis by preventing gaps from being used to initiate recombination. This is considered to be an anti-recombination role. In recombination, Srs2 plays both prorecombination and anti-recombination roles to promote the synthesis-dependent strand annealing recombination pathway and to inhibit gaps from initiating homologous recombination. In repair, the Srs2 helicase actively promotes gap repair through an interaction with the Exo1 nuclease to enlarge a gap for repair and to prevent Rad51 protein from accumulating on single-stranded DNA. Finally, Srs2 helicase can unwind hairpin-forming repeat sequences to promote replication and prevent repeat instability. The Srs2 activities can be controlled by phosphorylation, SUMO modification and interaction with key partners at DNA damage or lesions sites, which include PCNA and Rad51. These interactions can also limit DNA polymerase function during recombinational repair independent of the Srs2 translocase or helicase activity, further highlighting the importance of the Srs2 protein in regulating recombination. Here we review the myriad roles of Srs2 that have been documented in genome maintenance and distinguish between the translocase, helicase and additional functions of the Srs2 protein.

Small molecule inhibitors uncover synthetic genetic interactions of human flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1) with DNA damage response genes

Flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1) is a structure selective endonuclease required for proficient DNA replication and the repair of DNA damage. Cellularly active inhibitors of this enzyme have previously been shown to induce a DNA damage response and, ultimately, cell death. High-throughput screens of human cancer cell-lines identify colorectal and gastric cell-lines with microsatellite instability (MSI) as enriched for cellular sensitivity to N-hydroxyurea series inhibitors of FEN1, but not the PARP inhibitor olaparib or other inhibitors of the DNA damage response. This sensitivity is due to a synthetic lethal interaction between FEN1 and MRE11A, which is often mutated in MSI cancers through instabilities at a poly(T) microsatellite repeat. Disruption of ATM is similarly synthetic lethal with FEN1 inhibition, suggesting that disruption of FEN1 function leads to the accumulation of DNA double-strand breaks. These are likely a result of the accumulation of aberrant replication forks, that accumulate as a consequence of a failure in Okazaki fragment maturation, as inhibition of FEN1 is toxic in cells disrupted for the Fanconi anemia pathway and post-replication repair. Furthermore, RAD51 foci accumulate as a consequence of FEN1 inhibition and the toxicity of FEN1 inhibitors increases in cells disrupted for the homologous recombination pathway, suggesting a role for homologous recombination in the resolution of damage induced by FEN1 inhibition. Finally, FEN1 appears to be required for the repair of damage induced by olaparib and cisplatin within the Fanconi anemia pathway, and may play a role in the repair of damage associated with its own disruption.

A genetic network that suppresses genome rearrangements in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and contains defects in cancers

Gross chromosomal rearrangements (GCRs) play an important role in human diseases, including cancer. The identity of all Genome Instability Suppressing (GIS) genes is not currently known. Here multiple Saccharomyces cerevisiae GCR assays and query mutations were crossed into arrays of mutants to identify progeny with increased GCR rates. One hundred eighty two GIS genes were identified that suppressed GCR formation. Another 438 cooperatively acting GIS genes were identified that were not GIS genes, but suppressed the increased genome instability caused by individual query mutations. Analysis of TCGA data using the human genes predicted to act in GIS pathways revealed that a minimum of 93% of ovarian and 66% of colorectal cancer cases had defects affecting one or more predicted GIS gene. These defects included loss-of-function mutations, copy-number changes associated with reduced expression, and silencing. In contrast, acute myeloid leukaemia cases did not appear to have defects affecting the predicted GIS genes.

Here, Richard Kolodner and colleagues use assays in Saccharomyces cerevisiae to identify 182 genetic modifiers of gross chromosomal rearrangements (GCRs). They also compared these Genome Instability Suppressing (GIS) genes and pathways in human cancer genome, and found many ovarian and colorectal cancer cases have alterations to GIS pathways.

Consider the workhorse: Nonhomologous end-joining in budding yeast

DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) are dangerous sources of genome instability and must be repaired by the cell. Nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) is an evolutionarily conserved pathway to repair DSBs by direct ligation of the ends, with no requirement for a homologous template. While NHEJ is the primary DSB repair pathway in mammalian cells, conservation of the core NHEJ factors throughout eukaryotes makes the pathway attractive for study in model organisms. The budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, has been used extensively to develop a functional picture of NHEJ. In this review, we will discuss the current understanding of NHEJ in S. cerevisiae. Topics include canonical end-joining, alternative end-joining, and pathway regulation. Particular attention will be paid to the NHEJ mechanism involving core factors, including Yku70/80, Dnl4, Lif1, and Nej1, as well as the various factors implicated in the processing of the broken ends. The relevance of chromatin dynamics to NHEJ will also be discussed. This review illustrates the use of S. cerevisiae as a powerful system to understand the principles of NHEJ, as well as in pioneering the direction of the field.

Pro-recombination Role of Srs2 Protein Requires SUMO (Small Ubiquitin-like Modifier) but Is Independent of PCNA (Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen) Interaction

Srs2 plays many roles in DNA repair, the proper regulation and coordination of which is essential. Post-translational modification by small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) is one such possible mechanism. Here, we investigate the role of SUMO in Srs2 regulation and show that the SUMO-interacting motif (SIM) of Srs2 is important for the interaction with several recombination factors. Lack of SIM, but not proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA)-interacting motif (PIM), leads to increased cell death under circumstances requiring homologous recombination for DNA repair. Simultaneous mutation of SIM in asrs2ΔPIMstrain leads to a decrease in recombination, indicating a pro-recombination role of SUMO. Thus SIM has an ambivalent function in Srs2 regulation; it not only mediates interaction with SUMO-PCNA to promote the anti-recombination function but it also plays a PCNA-independent pro-recombination role, probably by stimulating the formation of recombination complexes. The fact that deletion of PIM suppresses the phenotypes of Srs2 lacking SIM suggests that proper balance between the anti-recombination PCNA-bound and pro-recombination pools of Srs2 is crucial. Notably, sumoylation of Srs2 itself specifically stimulates recombination at the rDNA locus.

Relative contribution of four nucleases, CtIP, Dna2, Exo1 and Mre11, to the initial step of DNA double-strand break repair by homologous recombination in both the chicken DT40 and human TK6 cell lines

Homologous recombination (HR) is initiated by double-strand break (DSB) resection, during which DSBs are processed by nucleases to generate 3' single-strand DNA. DSB resection is initiated by CtIP and Mre11 followed by long-range resection by Dna2 and Exo1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. To analyze the relative contribution of four nucleases, CtIP, Mre11, Dna2 and Exo1, to DSB resection, we disrupted genes encoding these nucleases in chicken DT40 cells. CtIP and Dna2 are required for DSB resection, whereas Exo1 is dispensable even in the absence of Dna2, which observation agrees with no developmental defect in Exo1-deficient mice. Despite the critical role of Mre11 in DSB resection in S. cerevisiae, loss of Mre11 only modestly impairs DSB resection in DT40 cells. To further test the role of CtIP and Mre11 in other species, we conditionally disrupted CtIP and MRE11 genes in the human TK6 B cell line. As with DT40 cells, CtIP contributes to DSB resection considerably more significantly than Mre11 in TK6 cells. Considering the critical role of Mre11 in HR, this study suggests that Mre11 is involved in a mechanism other than DSB resection. In summary, CtIP and Dna2 are sufficient for DSB resection to ensure efficient DSB repair by HR.

Blocking single-stranded transferred DNA conversion to double-stranded intermediates by overexpression of yeast DNA REPLICATION FACTOR A

Agrobacterium tumefaciens delivers its single-stranded transferred DNA (T-strand) into the host cell nucleus, where it can be converted into double-stranded molecules. Various studies have revealed that double-stranded transfer DNA (T-DNA) intermediates can serve as substrates by as yet uncharacterized integration machinery. Nevertheless, the possibility that T-strands are themselves substrates for integration cannot be ruled out. We attempted to block the conversion of T-strands into double-stranded intermediates prior to integration in order to further investigate the route taken by T-DNA molecules on their way to integration. Transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana) plants that overexpress three yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) protein subunits of DNA REPLICATION FACTOR A (RFA) were produced. In yeast, these subunits (RFA1-RFA3) function as a complex that can bind single-stranded DNA molecules, promoting the repair of genomic double strand breaks. Overexpression of the RFA complex in tobacco resulted in decreased T-DNA expression, as determined by infection with A. tumefaciens cells carrying the β-glucuronidase intron reporter gene. Gene expression was not blocked when the reporter gene was delivered by microbombardment. Enhanced green fluorescent protein-assisted localization studies indicated that the three-protein complex was predominantly nuclear, thus indicating its function within the plant cell nucleus, possibly by binding naked T-strands and blocking their conversion into double-stranded intermediates. This notion was further supported by the inhibitory effect of RFA expression on the cell-to-cell movement of Bean dwarf mosaic virus, a single-stranded DNA virus. The observation that RFA complex plants dramatically inhibited the transient expression level of T-DNA and only reduced T-DNA integration by 50% suggests that double-stranded T-DNA intermediates, as well as single-stranded T-DNA, play significant roles in the integration process.

Rad52/Rad59-dependent recombination as a means to rectify faulty Okazaki fragment processing

The correct removal of 5'-flap structures by Rad27 and Dna2 during Okazaki fragment maturation is crucial for the stable maintenance of genetic materials and cell viability. In this study, we identified RAD52, a key recombination protein, as a multicopy suppressor of dna2-K1080E, a lethal helicase-negative mutant allele of DNA2 in yeasts. In contrast, the overexpression of Rad51, which works conjointly with Rad52 in canonical homologous recombination, failed to suppress the growth defect of the dna2-K1080E mutation, indicating that Rad52 plays a unique and distinct role in Okazaki fragment metabolism. We found that the recombination-defective Rad52-QDDD/AAAA mutant did not rescue dna2-K1080E, suggesting that Rad52-mediated recombination is important for suppression. The Rad52-mediated enzymatic stimulation of Dna2 or Rad27 is not a direct cause of suppression observed in vivo, as both Rad52 and Rad52-QDDD/AAAA proteins stimulated the endonuclease activities of both Dna2 and Rad27 to a similar extent. The recombination mediator activity of Rad52 was dispensable for the suppression, whereas both the DNA annealing activity and its ability to interact with Rad59 were essential. In addition, we found that several cohesion establishment factors, including Rsc2 and Elg1, were required for the Rad52-dependent suppression of dna2-K1080E. Our findings suggest a novel Rad52/Rad59-dependent, but Rad51-independent recombination pathway that could ultimately lead to the removal of faulty flaps in conjunction with cohesion establishment factors.

Single-molecule characterization of Fen1 and Fen1/PCNA complexes acting on flap substrates

Flap endonuclease 1 (Fen1) is a highly conserved structure-specific nuclease that catalyses a specific incision to remove 5' flaps in double-stranded DNA substrates. Fen1 plays an essential role in key cellular processes, such as DNA replication and repair, and mutations that compromise Fen1 expression levels or activity have severe health implications in humans. The nuclease activity of Fen1 and other FEN family members can be stimulated by processivity clamps such as proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA); however, the exact mechanism of PCNA activation is currently unknown. Here, we have used a combination of ensemble and single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer together with protein-induced fluorescence enhancement to uncouple and investigate the substrate recognition and catalytic steps of Fen1 and Fen1/PCNA complexes. We propose a model in which upon Fen1 binding, a highly dynamic substrate is bent and locked into an open flap conformation where specific Fen1/DNA interactions can be established. PCNA enhances Fen1 recognition of the DNA substrate by further promoting the open flap conformation in a step that may involve facilitated threading of the 5' ssDNA flap. Merging our data with existing crystallographic and molecular dynamics simulations we provide a solution-based model for the Fen1/PCNA/DNA ternary complex.

Alleles of the homologous recombination gene, RAD59, identify multiple responses to disrupted DNA replication in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Background

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Rad59 is required for multiple homologous recombination mechanisms and viability in DNA replication-defective rad27 mutant cells. Recently, four rad59 missense alleles were found to have distinct effects on homologous recombination that are consistent with separation-of-function mutations. The rad59-K166A allele alters an amino acid in a conserved α-helical domain, and, like the rad59 null allele diminishes association of Rad52 with double-strand breaks. The rad59-K174A and rad59-F180A alleles alter amino acids in the same domain and have genetically similar effects on homologous recombination. The rad59-Y92A allele alters a conserved amino acid in a separate domain, has genetically distinct effects on homologous recombination, and does not diminish association of Rad52 with double-strand breaks.

Results

In this study, rad59 mutant strains were crossed with a rad27 null mutant to examine the effects of the rad59 alleles on the link between viability, growth and the stimulation of homologous recombination in replication-defective cells. Like the rad59 null allele, rad59-K166A was synthetically lethal in combination with rad27. The rad59-K174A and rad59-F180A alleles were not synthetically lethal in combination with rad27, had effects on growth that coincided with decreased ectopic gene conversion, but did not affect mutation, unequal sister-chromatid recombination, or loss of heterozygosity. The rad59-Y92A allele was not synthetically lethal when combined with rad27, stimulated ectopic gene conversion and heteroallelic recombination independently from rad27, and was mutually epistatic with srs2. Unlike rad27, the stimulatory effect of rad59-Y92A on homologous recombination was not accompanied by effects on growth rate, cell cycle distribution, mutation, unequal sister-chromatid recombination, or loss of heterozygosity.

Conclusions

The synthetic lethality conferred by rad59 null and rad59-K166A alleles correlates with their inhibitory effect on association of Rad52 with double-strand breaks, suggesting that this may be essential for rescuing replication lesions in rad27 mutant cells. The rad59-K174A and rad59-F180A alleles may fractionally reduce this same function, which proportionally reduced repair of replication lesions by homologous recombination and growth rate. In contrast, rad59-Y92A stimulates homologous recombination, perhaps by affecting association of replication lesions with the Rad51 recombinase. This suggests that Rad59 influences the rescue of replication lesions by multiple recombination factors.

Causes of genome instability

Genomes are transmitted faithfully from dividing cells to their offspring. Changes that occur during DNA repair, chromosome duplication, and transmission or via recombination provide a natural source of genetic variation. They occur at low frequency because of the intrinsic variable nature of genomes, which we refer to as genome instability. However, genome instability can be enhanced by exposure to external genotoxic agents or as the result of cellular pathologies. We review the causes of genome instability as well as how it results in hyper-recombination, genome rearrangements, and chromosome fragmentation and loss, which are mainly mediated by double-strand breaks or single-strand gaps. Such events are primarily associated with defects in DNA replication and the DNA damage response, and show high incidence at repetitive DNA, non-B DNA structures, DNA-protein barriers, and highly transcribed regions. Identifying the causes of genome instability is crucial to understanding genome dynamics during cell proliferation and its role in cancer, aging, and a number of rare genetic diseases.

Functional interplay of the Mre11 nuclease and Ku in the response to replication-associated DNA damage

The Mre11 complex is a central component of the DNA damage response, with roles in damage sensing, molecular bridging, and end resection. We have previously shown that in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Ku70 (yKu70) deficiency reduces the ionizing radiation sensitivity of mre11Δ mutants. In this study, we show that yKu70 deficiency suppressed the camptothecin (CPT) and methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) sensitivity of nuclease-deficient mre11-3 and sae2Δ mutants in an Exo1-dependent manner. CPT-induced G(2)/M arrest, γ-H2AX persistence, and chromosome breaks were elevated in mre11-3 mutants. These outcomes were reduced by yKu70 deficiency. Given that the genotoxic effects of CPT are manifest during DNA replication, these data suggest that Ku limits Exo1-dependent double-strand break (DSB) resection during DNA replication, inhibiting the initial processing steps required for homology-directed repair. We propose that Mre11 nuclease- and Sae2-dependent DNA end processing, which initiates DSB resection prevents Ku from engaging DSBs, thus promoting Exo1-dependent resection. In agreement with this idea, we show that Ku affinity for binding to short single-stranded overhangs is much lower than for blunt DNA ends. Collectively, the data define a nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ)-independent, S-phase-specific function of the Ku heterodimer.

Human flap endonuclease structures, DNA double-base flipping, and a unified understanding of the FEN1 superfamily

Flap endonuclease (FEN1), essential for DNA replication and repair, removes RNA and DNA 5' flaps. FEN1 5' nuclease superfamily members acting in nucleotide excision repair (XPG), mismatch repair (EXO1), and homologous recombination (GEN1) paradoxically incise structurally distinct bubbles, ends, or Holliday junctions, respectively. Here, structural and functional analyses of human FEN1:DNA complexes show structure-specific, sequence-independent recognition for nicked dsDNA bent 100° with unpaired 3' and 5' flaps. Above the active site, a helical cap over a gateway formed by two helices enforces ssDNA threading and specificity for free 5' ends. Crystallographic analyses of product and substrate complexes reveal that dsDNA binding and bending, the ssDNA gateway, and double-base unpairing flanking the scissile phosphate control precise flap incision by the two-metal-ion active site. Superfamily conserved motifs bind and open dsDNA; direct the target region into the helical gateway, permitting only nonbase-paired oligonucleotides active site access; and support a unified understanding of superfamily substrate specificity.

Srs2 overexpression reveals a helicase-independent role at replication forks that requires diverse cell functions

Srs2 is a 3'-5' DNA helicase that regulates many aspects of DNA metabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It is best known for its ability to counteract homologous recombination by dismantling Rad51 filaments, but is also involved in checkpoint activation, adaptation and recovery, and in resolution of late recombination intermediates. To further address its biological roles and uncover new genetic interactions, we examined the consequences of overexpressing SRS2 as well as two helicase-dead mutants, srs2-K41A and srs2-K41R, in the collection of 4827 yeast haploid deletion mutants. We identified 274 genes affecting a large variety of cellular functions that are required for cell growth when SRS2 or its mutants are overexpressed. Further analysis of these interactions reveals that Srs2 acts independently of its helicase function at replication forks likely through its recruitment by the sumoylated PCNA replication clamp. This helicase-independent function is responsible for the negative interactions with DNA metabolism genes and for the toxicity of SRS2 overexpression in many of the diverse cellular pathways revealed in our screens.

Subtle alterations in PCNA-partner interactions severely impair DNA replication and repair

Dynamic switching of PCNA-partner interactions is essential for normal DNA replication and repair in yeast.

The robustness of complex biological processes in the face of environmental and genetic perturbations is a key biological trait. However, while robustness has been extensively studied, little is known regarding the fragility of biological processes. Here, we have examined the susceptibility of DNA replication and repair processes mediated by the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). Using protein directed evolution, biochemical, and genetic approaches, we have generated and characterized PCNA mutants with increased affinity for several key partners of the PCNA-partner network. We found that increases in PCNA-partner interaction affinities led to severe in vivo phenotypic defects. Surprisingly, such defects are much more severe than those induced by complete abolishment of the respective interactions. Thus, the subtle and tunable nature of these affinity perturbations produced different phenotypic effects than realized with traditional “on-off” analysis using gene knockouts. Our findings indicate that biological systems can be robust to one set of perturbations yet fragile to others.

Many biological processes are mediated by complex protein-protein interaction networks. The most highly connected proteins in such networks, termed hub proteins, precisely regulate biological processes by the regulated and sequential binding and releasing of partner proteins. In the case of DNA replication and repair, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) is a hub protein that encircles the DNA to dynamically bind and release a variety of DNA-modifying enzymes. In this work, we explored the impact of subtle alterations of PCNA-partner interaction affinities on DNA replication and repair in yeast. Using directed evolution approaches, we generated a large library of PCNA mutants and selected for those with enhanced affinity for five different PCNA partners. In vivo analysis of such mutants indicated the high sensitivity of DNA replication and repair processes to minor alterations in PCNA-partner interaction affinities. Importantly, we discovered that some of the defects observed in the strains with increased PCNA-partner protein interaction far exceed the defects observed when the same partner protein is deleted altogether. Our analysis suggests that the cost of misregulating biological processes through disruption of the carefully orchestrated action of hub-interacting proteins can be much higher than the cost of deleting parts of the network altogether, demonstrating both the fragility and robustness of biological processes.

Ku prevents Exo1 and Sgs1-dependent resection of DNA ends in the absence of a functional MRX complex or Sae2

In this study, we investigate the interplay between Ku, a central non-homologous end-joining component, and the Mre11-Rad50-Xrs2 (MRX) complex and Sae2, end-processing factors crucial for initiating 5'-3' resection of double-strand break (DSB) ends. We show that in the absence of end protection by Ku, the requirement for the MRX complex is bypassed and resection is executed by Exo1. In contrast, both the Exo1 and Sgs1 resection pathways contribute to DSB processing in the absence of Ku and Sae2 or when the MRX complex is intact, but functionally compromised by elimination of the Mre11 nuclease activity. The ionizing radiation sensitivity of a mutant defective for extensive resection (exo1Δ sgs1Δ) cannot be suppressed by the yku70Δ mutation, indicating that Ku suppression is specific to the initiation of resection. We provide evidence that replication-associated DSBs need to be processed by Sae2 for repair by homologous recombination unless Ku is absent. Finally, we show that the presence of Ku exacerbates DNA end-processing defects established in the sae2Δ sgs1Δ mutant, leading to its lethality.

Cdk1 targets Srs2 to complete synthesis-dependent strand annealing and to promote recombinational repair

Cdk1 kinase phosphorylates budding yeast Srs2, a member of UvrD protein family, displays both DNA translocation and DNA unwinding activities in vitro. Srs2 prevents homologous recombination by dismantling Rad51 filaments and is also required for double-strand break (DSB) repair. Here we examine the biological significance of Cdk1-dependent phosphorylation of Srs2, using mutants that constitutively express the phosphorylated or unphosphorylated protein isoforms. We found that Cdk1 targets Srs2 to repair DSB and, in particular, to complete synthesis-dependent strand annealing, likely controlling the disassembly of a D-loop intermediate. Cdk1-dependent phosphorylation controls turnover of Srs2 at the invading strand; and, in absence of this modification, the turnover of Rad51 is not affected. Further analysis of the recombination phenotypes of the srs2 phospho-mutants showed that Srs2 phosphorylation is not required for the removal of toxic Rad51 nucleofilaments, although it is essential for cell survival, when DNA breaks are channeled into homologous recombinational repair. Cdk1-targeted Srs2 displays a PCNA–independent role and appears to have an attenuated ability to inhibit recombination. Finally, the recombination defects of unphosphorylatable Srs2 are primarily due to unscheduled accumulation of the Srs2 protein in a sumoylated form. Thus, the Srs2 anti-recombination function in removing toxic Rad51 filaments is genetically separable from its role in promoting recombinational repair, which depends exclusively on Cdk1-dependent phosphorylation. We suggest that Cdk1 kinase counteracts unscheduled sumoylation of Srs2 and targets Srs2 to dismantle specific DNA structures, such as the D-loops, in a helicase-dependent manner during homologous recombinational repair.

Broken DNA molecules can be repaired by copying a homologous DNA sequence located elsewhere in the genome. This process, called homologous recombination, needs to be carefully regulated, because unwanted DNA exchanges can lead to genome rearrangements and cell death. Cdk1 kinase is required for cell cycle progression and phosphorylates DNA repair factors, such as Srs2, a protein that can both translocate on single-stranded DNA and open the two strands of DNA double helix. DNA translocation activity of Srs2 is crucial to prevent unwanted recombination, while DNA unwinding activity might be important to promote recombination. In this study, we used two srs2 mutants that constitutively express the unphosphorylated or Cdk1-dependent phosphorylated Srs2 protein isoforms. We found that Srs2 performs genetically distinct functions in preventing or promoting homologous recombination. Cdk1 targets Srs2 to promote accurate repair of double-stranded DNA breaks, but is not essential for the removal of toxic recombination intermediates assembled at single-stranded DNA breaks. Further, Cdk1 counteracts sumoylation of Srs2, which is responsible for recombination defects due to the lack of Srs2 phosphorylation. In summary, Cdk1-dependent Srs2 phosphorylation prevents its unscheduled sumoylation and targets the helicase to promote accurate homologous recombinational repair.

Homologous recombination in Sulfolobus acidocaldarius: genetic assays and functional properties

HR (homologous recombination) is expected to play important roles in the molecular biology and genetics of archaea, but, so far, few functional properties of archaeal HR have been measured in vivo. In the extreme thermoacidophile Sulfolobus acidocaldarius, a conjugational mechanism of DNA transfer enables quantitative analysis of HR between chromosomal markers. Early studies of this system indicated that HR occurred frequently between closely spaced mutations within the pyrE gene, and this result was later supported by various analyses involving defined point mutations and deletions. These properties of intragenic HR suggested a non-reciprocal mechanism in which donor sequences become incorporated into the recipient genome as short segments. Because fragmentation of donor DNA during cell-to-cell transfer could not be excluded from contributing to this result, subsequent analyses have focused on electroporation of selectable donor DNA directly into recipient strains. For example, S. acidocaldarius was found to incorporate synthetic ssDNA (single-stranded DNA) of more than approximately 20 nt readily into its genome. With respect to various molecular properties of the ssDNA substrates, the process resembled bacteriophage lambdaRed-mediated 'recombineering' in Escherichia coli. Another approach used electroporation of a multiply marked pyrE gene to measure donor sequence tracts transferred to the recipient genome in individual recombination events. Initial results indicate multiple discontinuous tracts in the majority of recombinants, representing a relatively broad distribution of tract lengths. This pattern suggests that properties of the HR process could, in principle, account for many of the apparent peculiarities of intragenic recombination initiated by S. acidocaldarius conjugation.

Chronic oxidative DNA damage due to DNA repair defects causes chromosomal instability in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Oxidative DNA damage is likely to be involved in the etiology of cancer and is thought to accelerate tumorigenesis via increased mutation rates. However, the majority of malignant cells acquire a specific type of genomic instability characterized by large-scale genomic rearrangements, referred to as chromosomal instability (CIN). The molecular mechanisms underlying CIN are not entirely understood. We utilized Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model system to delineate the relationship between genotoxic stress and CIN. It was found that elevated levels of chronic, unrepaired oxidative DNA damage caused chromosomal aberrations at remarkably high frequencies under both selective and nonselective growth conditions. In this system, exceeding the cellular capacity to appropriately manage oxidative DNA damage resulted in a "gain-of-CIN" phenotype and led to profound karyotypic instability. These results illustrate a novel mechanism for genome destabilization that is likely to be relevant to human carcinogenesis.

Molecular characterization of the role of the Schizosaccharomyces pombe nip1+/ctp1+ gene in DNA double-strand break repair in association with the Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1 complex

The Schizosaccharomyces pombe nip1(+)/ctp1(+) gene was previously identified as an slr (synthetically lethal with rad2) mutant. Epistasis analysis indicated that Nip1/Ctp1 functions in Rhp51-dependent recombinational repair, together with the Rad32 (spMre11)-Rad50-Nbs1 complex, which plays important roles in the early steps of DNA double-strand break repair. Nip1/Ctp1 was phosphorylated in asynchronous, exponentially growing cells and further phosphorylated in response to bleomycin treatment. Overproduction of Nip1/Ctp1 suppressed the DNA repair defect of an nbs1-s10 mutant, which carries a mutation in the FHA phosphopeptide-binding domain of Nbs1, but not of an nbs1 null mutant. Meiotic DNA double-strand breaks accumulated in the nip1/ctp1 mutant. The DNA repair phenotypes and epistasis relationships of nip1/ctp1 are very similar to those of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae sae2/com1 mutant, suggesting that Nip1/Ctp1 is a functional homologue of Sae2/Com1, although the sequence similarity between the proteins is limited to the C-terminal region containing the RHR motif. We found that the RxxL and CxxC motifs are conserved in Schizosaccharomyces species and in vertebrate CtIP, originally identified as a cofactor of the transcriptional corepressor CtBP. However, these two motifs are not found in other fungi, including Saccharomyces and Aspergillus species. We propose that Nip1/Ctp1 is a functional counterpart of Sae2/Com1 and CtIP.

Rad51 protein controls Rad52-mediated DNA annealing

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Rad52 protein plays an essential role in the repair of DNA double-stranded breaks (DSBs). Rad52 and its orthologs possess the unique capacity to anneal single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) complexed with its cognate ssDNA-binding protein, RPA. This annealing activity is used in multiple mechanisms of DSB repair: single-stranded annealing, synthesis-dependent strand annealing, and cross-over formation. Here we report that the S. cerevisiae DNA strand exchange protein, Rad51, prevents Rad52-mediated annealing of complementary ssDNA. Efficient inhibition is ATP-dependent and involves a specific interaction between Rad51 and Rad52. Free Rad51 can limit DNA annealing by Rad52, but the Rad51 nucleoprotein filament is even more effective. We also discovered that the budding yeast Rad52 paralog, Rad59 protein, partially restores Rad52-dependent DNA annealing in the presence of Rad51, suggesting that Rad52 and Rad59 function coordinately to enhance recombinational DNA repair either by directing the processed DSBs to repair by DNA strand annealing or by promoting second end capture to form a double Holliday junction. This regulation of Rad52-mediated annealing suggests a control function for Rad51 in deciding the recombination path taken for a processed DNA break; the ssDNA can be directed to either Rad51-mediated DNA strand invasion or to Rad52-mediated DNA annealing. This channeling determines the nature of the subsequent repair process and is consistent with the observed competition between these pathways in vivo.

Functional interactions between Sae2 and the Mre11 complex

The Mre11 complex functions in double-strand break (DSB) repair, meiotic recombination, and DNA damage checkpoint pathways. Sae2 deficiency has opposing effects on the Mre11 complex. On one hand, it appears to impair Mre11 nuclease function in DNA repair and meiotic DSB processing, and on the other, Sae2 deficiency activates Mre11-complex-dependent DNA-damage-signaling via the Tel1-Mre11 complex (TM) pathway. We demonstrate that SAE2 overexpression blocks the TM pathway, suggesting that Sae2 antagonizes Mre11-complex checkpoint functions. To understand how Sae2 regulates the Mre11 complex, we screened for sae2 alleles that behaved as the null with respect to Mre11-complex checkpoint functions, but left nuclease function intact. Phenotypic characterization of these sae2 alleles suggests that Sae2 functions as a multimer and influences the substrate specificity of the Mre11 nuclease. We show that Sae2 oligomerizes independently of DNA damage and that oligomerization is required for its regulatory influence on the Mre11 nuclease and checkpoint functions.

A conserved function for a Caenorhabditis elegans Com1/Sae2/CtIP protein homolog in meiotic recombination

Genome stability relies on faithful DNA repair both in mitosis and in meiosis. Here, we report on a Caenorhabditis elegans protein that we found to be homologous to the mammalian repair-related protein CtIP and to the budding yeast Com1/Sae2 recombination protein. A com-1 mutant displays normal meiotic chromosome pairing but forms irregular chromatin aggregates instead of diakinesis bivalents. While meiotic DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are formed, they appear to persist or undergo improper repair. Despite the presence of DSBs, the recombination protein RAD-51, which is known to associate with single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) flanking DSBs, does not localize to meiotic chromosomes in the com-1 mutant. Exposure of the mutant to gamma-radiation, however, induces RAD-51 foci, which suggests that the failure of RAD-51 to load is specific to meiotic (SPO-11-generated) DSBs. These results suggest that C. elegans COM-1 plays a role in the generation of ssDNA tails that can load RAD-51, invade homologous DNA tracts and thereby initiate recombination. Extrapolating from the worm homolog, we expect similar phenotypes for mutations in the mammalian tumor suppressor CtIP.

The multiple roles of the Mre11 complex for meiotic recombination

During the first meiotic prophase, numerous DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) are formed in the genome in order to initiate recombination between homologous chromosomes. The conserved Mre11 complex, formed of Mre11, Rad50 and Nbs1 (Xrs2 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae) proteins, plays a crucial role in mitotic cells for sensing and repairing DSB. In meiosis the Mre11 complex is also required for meiotic recombination. Depending on the organisms, the Mre11 complex is required for the formation of the DSB catalysed by the transesterase Spo11 protein. It then plays a unique function in removing covalently attached Spo11 from the 5' extremity of the breaks through its nuclease activity, to allow further break resection. Finally, the Mre11 complex also plays a role during meiosis in bridging DNA molecules together and in sensing Spo11 DSB and activating the DNA damage checkpoint. In this article the different biochemical functions of the Mre11 complex required during meiosis are reviewed, as well as the consequences of Mre11 complex inactivation for meiosis in several organisms. Finally, I describe the meiotic phenotypes of several animal models that have been developed to model hypomorphic mutations of the Mre11 complex, involved in humans in some genetic instability disorders.

Mutations in theRAD27andSGS1genes differentially affect the chronological and replicative lifespan of yeast cells growing on glucose and glycerol

The Sgs1 protein from Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a member of the RecQ helicases. Defects in RecQ helicases result in premature aging phenotypes in both yeasts and humans, which appear to be promoted by replicative stress. Yeast rad27 mutants also suffer from premature aging. As the human Rad27p and Sgs1p homologs interact, a similar interaction between the yeast proteins could be important for promoting longevity in S. cerevisiae. We tested the contribution of a potential interaction between Rad27p and Sgs1p to longevity by analyzing lifespan and parameters associated with longevity in rad27 and sgs1 mutants. The carbon source supporting growth also modulated longevity as evaluated by replicative and chronological lifespan measurements. Growth on glycerol promoted chronological lifespan, while maximum replicative lifespan was obtained with glucose-supported growth. In comparison to the individual mutants, the sgs1 rad27 double mutant displayed a shortened replicative lifespan and was also more sensitive to DNA-damaging agents. In addition to promoting replicative lifespan, the activity of Rad27p was critical for achieving full chronological lifespan. The rad27 mutants exhibited increased oxidative stress levels along with an elevated spontaneous mutation rate. Removal of Sgs1p activity additionally increased the oxidative stress and spontaneous mutation rate in rad27 mutants without affecting the chronological lifespan.

The human F-Box DNA helicase FBH1 faces Saccharomyces cerevisiae Srs2 and postreplication repair pathway roles

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae Srs2 UvrD DNA helicase controls genome integrity by preventing unscheduled recombination events. While Srs2 orthologues have been identified in prokaryotic and lower eukaryotic organisms, human orthologues of Srs2 have not been described so far. We found that the human F-box DNA helicase hFBH1 suppresses specific recombination defects of S. cerevisiae srs2 mutants, consistent with the finding that the helicase domain of hFBH1 is highly conserved with that of Srs2. Surprisingly, hFBH1 in the absence of SRS2 also suppresses the DNA damage sensitivity caused by inactivation of postreplication repair-dependent functions leading to PCNA ubiquitylation. The F-box domain of hFBH1, which is not present in Srs2, is crucial for hFBH1 functions in substituting for Srs2 and postreplication repair factors. Furthermore, our findings indicate that an intact F-box domain, acting as an SCF ubiquitin ligase, is required for the DNA damage-induced degradation of hFBH1 itself. Overall, our findings suggest that the hFBH1 helicase is a functional human orthologue of budding yeast Srs2 that also possesses self-regulation properties necessary to execute its recombination functions.

Mre11 mediates gene regulation in yeast spore development

Mre11, together with Rad50 and Xrs2/NBS, plays pivotal roles in homologous recombination, repair of DNA double strand breaks (DSBs), activation of damage-induced checkpoint, and telomere maintenance. Here we demonstrate that the absence of Mre11 in yeast causes specific effects on regulation of a class of meiotic genes for spore development. Using DNA microarray assays to analyze yeast mutants defective for meiotic DSB formation, we revealed that the meiotic expression profile in the mre11Delta cells was generally unaffected when compared to the one in the wild-type strain, although the activation of about 90 meiotic genes were severely and specifically impaired in early meiosis. These defects were confirmed by northern and lacZ reporter gene assays. Interestingly, a substantial portion of the severely affected genes includes genes responsible for spore wall biogenesis, the defects of which may account for the fragile spore wall phenotype of the mre11Delta strain. The transcriptional deficiency was not observed in other DSB mutants such as rad50Delta, xrs2Delta, spo11Delta, and spo11Y135F, suggesting the transcriptional defect in mre11Delta is due to neither lack of meiotic DSB formation, nor disintegrity of Mre11-Rad50-Xrs2 complex. In addition, the deficiency of mre11Delta in gene activation was not alleviated by the deletion of RAD24. Therefore, it is unlikely that DNA damage checkpoint activation by mre11Delta caused transcriptional deficiency. We also found that a C-terminus DNA binding domain truncation mutant (mre11DeltaC49), which has meiosis-specific defects, exhibited transcriptional defects as observed in mre11Delta, whereas an N-terminal phosphoesterase mutant (mre11D16A) does not. Taken together, we propose that Mre11 is involved in the regulation of a specific class of genes during spore development through its C-terminus domain.

Topoisomerase I-dependent viability loss in saccharomyces cerevisiae mutants defective in both SUMO conjugation and DNA repair

Siz1 and Siz2/Nfi1 are the two Siz/PIAS SUMO E3 ligases in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Here we show that siz1Delta siz2Delta mutants fail to grow in the absence of the homologous recombination pathway or the Fen1 ortholog RAD27. Remarkably, the growth defects of mutants such as siz1Delta siz2Delta rad52Delta are suppressed by mutations in TOP1, suggesting that these growth defects are caused by topoisomerase I activity. Other mutants that affect SUMO conjugation, including a ulp1 mutant and the nuclear pore mutants nup60Delta and nup133Delta, show similar top1-suppressible synthetic defects with DNA repair mutants, suggesting that these phenotypes also result from reduced SUMO conjugation. siz1Delta siz2Delta mutants also display TOP1-independent genome instability phenotypes, including increased mitotic recombination and elongated telomeres. We also show that SUMO conjugation, TOP1, and RAD27 have overlapping roles in telomere maintenance. Top1 is sumoylated, but Top1 does not appear to be the SUMO substrate involved in the synthetic growth defects. However, sumoylation of certain substrates, including Top1 itself and Tri1 (YMR233W), is enhanced in the absence of Top1 activity. Sumoylation is also required for growth of top1Delta cells. These results suggest that the SUMO pathway has a complex effect on genome stability that involves several mechanistically distinct processes.

A mutant allele of the transcription factor IIH helicase gene, RAD3, promotes loss of heterozygosity in response to a DNA replication defect in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Increased mitotic recombination enhances the risk for loss of heterozygosity, which contributes to the generation of cancer in humans. Defective DNA replication can result in elevated levels of recombination as well as mutagenesis and chromosome loss. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a null allele of the RAD27 gene, which encodes a structure-specific nuclease involved in Okazaki fragment processing, stimulates mutation and homologous recombination. Similarly, rad3-102, an allele of the gene RAD3, which encodes an essential helicase subunit of the core TFIIH transcription initiation and DNA repairosome complexes confers a hyper-recombinagenic and hypermutagenic phenotype. Combining the rad27 null allele with rad3-102 dramatically stimulated interhomolog recombination and chromosome loss but did not affect unequal sister-chromatid recombination, direct-repeat recombination, or mutation. Interestingly, the percentage of cells with Rad52-YFP foci also increased in the double-mutant haploids, suggesting that rad3-102 may increase lesions that elicit a response by the recombination machinery or, alternatively, stabilize recombinagenic lesions generated by DNA replication failure. This net increase in lesions led to a synthetic growth defect in haploids that is relieved in diploids, consistent with rad3-102 stimulating the generation and rescue of collapsed replication forks by recombination between homologs.

Complex minisatellite rearrangements generated in the total or partial absence of Rad27/hFEN1 activity occur in a single generation and are Rad51 and Rad52 dependent

Genomes contain tandem repeat blocks that are at risk of expansion or contraction. The mechanisms of destabilization of the human minisatellite CEB1 (arrays of 36- to 43-bp repeats) were investigated in a previously developed model system, in which CEB1-0.6 (14 repeats) and CEB1-1.8 (42 repeats) alleles were inserted into the genome of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. As in human cells, CEB1 is stable in mitotically growing yeast cells but is frequently rearranged in the absence of the Rad27/hFEN1 protein involved in Okazaki fragments maturation. To gain insight into this mode of destabilization, the CEB1-1.8 and CEB1-0.6 human alleles and 47 rearrangements derived from a CEB1-1.8 progenitor in rad27Delta cells were sequenced. A high degree of polymorphism of CEB1 internal repeats was observed, attesting to a large variety of homology-driven rearrangements. Simple deletion, double deletion, and highly complex events were observed. Pedigree analysis showed that all rearrangements, even the most complex, occurred in a single generation and were inherited equally by mother and daughter cells. Finally, the rearrangement frequency was found to increase with array size, and partial complementation of the rad27Delta mutation by hFEN1 demonstrated that the production of novel CEB1 alleles is Rad52 and Rad51 dependent. Instability can be explained by an accumulation of unresolved flap structures during replication, leading to the formation of recombinogenic lesions and faulty repair, best understood by homology-dependent synthesis-strand displacement and annealing.

Evidence that Protein Length Expansion and Contraction Is Partly Due to Mutational Events in Premeiotic Cells

Studies on the rate of evolution of proteins typically concentrate on rates of change of orthologous amino acids rather than on changes in size (i.e., generation of nonorthologous domains). Recent work has focused attention on Ser/Thr-rich regions in yeast as these tend to undergo size changes rapidly, with size polymorphisms commonly being found, especially in proteins with cell-surface localization. The underlying mechanism generating the indels is presently unclear though, due to a lack of correlation with the location of meiotic double-strand breaks, it has, by exclusion, been conjectured to be replication slippage. Here we provide new evidence to support this possibility. Notably, we show that Ser/Thr-rich repeat regions are more generally associated with the location of Mre11p in premeiotic cells. This is to be expected if the repeats were produced by mutational events in mitotic cells possibly through replication slippage.

Fen-1 facilitates homologous recombination by removing divergent sequences at DNA break ends

Homologous recombination (HR) requires nuclease activities at multiple steps, but the contribution of individual nucleases to the processing of double-strand DNA ends at different stages of HR has not been clearly defined. We used chicken DT40 cells to investigate the role of flap endonuclease 1 (Fen-1) in HR. FEN-1-deficient cells exhibited a significant decrease in the efficiency of immunoglobulin gene conversion while being proficient in recombination between sister chromatids, suggesting that Fen-1 may play a role in HR between sequences of considerable divergence. To clarify whether sequence divergence at DNA ends is truly the reason for the observed HR defect in FEN-1(-/-) cells we inserted a unique I-SceI restriction site in the genome and tested various donor and recipient HR substrates. We found that the efficiency of HR-mediated DNA repair was indeed greatly diminished when divergent sequences were present at the DNA break site. We conclude that Fen-1 eliminates heterologous sequences at DNA damage site and facilitates DNA repair by HR.

Functional identification of the non-specific nuclease from white spot syndrome virus

The product encoded by the wsv191 gene from shrimp white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) is homologous with non-specific nucleases (NSN) of other organisms. To functionally identify the protein, the wsv191 gene was expressed in Escherichia coli as a glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion protein with 6His-tag at C-terminal. The fusion protein (termed as rWSSV-NSN) was purified using Ni-NTA affinity chromatography under denatured conditions, renatured and characterized by three methods. The results showed that rWSSV-NSN could hydrolyze both DNA and RNA. 5'-RACE result revealed that the transcription initiation site of the wsv191 gene was located at nucleotide residue G of the predicted ATG triplet. Therefore, we concluded that the next ATG should be the genuine translation initiation codon of the wsv191 gene. Western blot analysis revealed that the molecular mass of natural WSSV-NSN was 37 kDa.

Mutations in Mre11 phosphoesterase motif I that impair Saccharomyces cerevisiae Mre11-Rad50-Xrs2 complex stability in addition to nuclease activity

The Mre11-Rad50-Xrs2 complex is involved in DNA double-strand break repair, telomere maintenance, and the intra-S phase checkpoint. The Mre11 subunit has nuclease activity in vitro, but the role of the nuclease in DNA repair and telomere maintenance remains controversial. We generated six mre11 alleles with substitutions of conserved residues within the Mre11-phosphoesterase motifs and compared the phenotypes conferred, as well as exonuclease activity and complex formation, by the mutant proteins. Substitutions of Asp16 conferred the most severe DNA repair and telomere length defects. Interactions between Mre11-D16A or Mre11-D16N and Rad50 or Xrs2 were severely compromised, whereas the mre11 alleles with greater DNA repair proficiency also exhibited stable complex formation. At all of the targeted residues, alanine substitution resulted in a more severe defect in DNA repair compared to the more conservative asparagine substitutions, but all of the mutant proteins exhibited <2% of the exonuclease activity observed for wild-type Mre11. Our results show that the structural integrity of the Mre11-Rad50-Xrs2 complex is more important than the catalytic activity of the Mre11 nuclease for the overall functions of the complex in vegetative cells.

Multiple but dissectible functions of FEN-1 nucleases in nucleic acid processing, genome stability and diseases

Flap EndoNuclease-1 (FEN-1) is a multifunctional and structure-specific nuclease involved in nucleic acid processing pathways. It plays a critical role in maintaining human genome stability through RNA primer removal, long-patch base excision repair and resolution of dinucleotide and trinucleotide repeat secondary structures. In addition to its flap endonuclease (FEN) and nick exonuclease (EXO) activities, a new gap endonuclease (GEN) activity has been characterized. This activity may be important in apoptotic DNA fragmentation and in resolving stalled DNA replication forks. The multiple functions of FEN-1 are regulated via several means, including formation of complexes with different protein partners, nuclear localization in response to cell cycle or DNA damage and post-translational modifications. Its functional deficiency is predicted to cause genetic diseases, including Huntington's disease, myotonic dystrophy and cancers. This review summarizes the knowledge gained through efforts in the past decade to define its structural elements for specific activities and possible pathological consequences of altered functions of this multirole player.

Intragenic tandem repeats generate functional variability

Tandemly repeated DNA sequences are highly dynamic components of genomes. Most repeats are in intergenic regions, but some are in coding sequences or pseudogenes. In humans, expansion of intragenic triplet repeats is associated with various diseases, including Huntington chorea and fragile X syndrome. The persistence of intragenic repeats in genomes suggests that there is a compensating benefit. Here we show that in the genome of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, most genes containing intragenic repeats encode cell-wall proteins. The repeats trigger frequent recombination events in the gene or between the gene and a pseudogene, causing expansion and contraction in the gene size. This size variation creates quantitative alterations in phenotypes (e.g., adhesion, flocculation or biofilm formation). We propose that variation in intragenic repeat number provides the functional diversity of cell surface antigens that, in fungi and other pathogens, allows rapid adaptation to the environment and elusion of the host immune system.

Mutation in Rpa1 results in defective DNA double-strand break repair, chromosomal instability and cancer in mice

Most cancers have multiple chromosomal rearrangements; the molecular mechanisms that generate them remain largely unknown. Mice carrying a heterozygous missense change in one of the DNA-binding domains of Rpa1 develop lymphoid tumors, and their homozygous littermates succumb to early embryonic lethality. Array comparative genomic hybridization of the tumors identified large-scale chromosomal changes as well as segmental gains and losses. The Rpa1 mutation resulted in defects in DNA double-strand break repair and precipitated chromosomal breaks as well as aneuploidy in primary heterozygous mutant mouse embryonic fibroblasts. The equivalent mutation in yeast is hypomorphic and semidominant and enhanced the formation of gross chromosomal rearrangements in multiple genetic backgrounds. These results indicate that Rpa1 functions in DNA metabolism are essential for the maintenance of chromosomal stability and tumor suppression.

Genetic network interactions among replication, repair and nuclear pore deficiencies in yeast

The yeast RAD27 gene encodes a functional homolog of the mammalian FEN1 protein, a structure-specific endo/exonuclease which plays an important role in DNA replication and repair. Previous genetic interaction studies, including a synthetic genetic array (SGA) analysis, showed that the survival of rad27Delta cells requires several DNA metabolic processes, in particular those mediated by all members of the Rad52-dependent recombinational repair pathway. Here, we report the results of our SGA analysis of the collection of non-essential yeast genes against the rad27Delta mutation, which resulted in the identification of a novel synthetic lethal interaction conferred by mutations affecting the Nup84 nuclear pore subcomplex (nup133Delta, nup120Delta and nup84Delta). Additional screens showed that all Rad52 group genes are required for the survival of the nup133Delta and nup120Delta mutants, which are defective in nuclear pore distribution and mRNA export, but not of the nup133DeltaN mutant, which is solely defective in pore distribution. This requirement for the DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair pathway is consistent with the observation that, like rad27Delta, the nup133Delta, nup120Delta and nup84Delta mutants are sensitive to methyl methanesulfonate (MMS). Furthermore, nup133Delta cells exhibit an increased number of spontaneous DNA repair foci containing Rad52. Altogether, these data suggest that the pathological interactions between the rad27Delta and specific nupDelta mutations result from the accumulation of unrepaired DNA damages.

High mobility of flap endonuclease 1 and DNA polymerase eta associated with replication foci in mammalian S-phase nucleus

Originally detected in fixed cells, DNA replication foci (RFi) were later visualized in living cells by using green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and DNA ligase I. It was shown using fluorescence redistribution after photobleaching (FRAP) assay that focal GFP-PCNA slowly exchanged, suggesting the existence of a stable replication holocomplex. Here, we used the FRAP assay to study the dynamics of the GFP-tagged PCNA-binding proteins: Flap endonuclease 1 (Fen1) and DNA polymerase eta (Pol eta). We also used the GFP-Cockayne syndrome group A (CSA) protein, which does associate with transcription foci after DNA damage. In normal cells, GFP-Pol eta and GFP-Fen1 are mobile with residence times at RFi (t(m)) approximately 2 and approximately 0.8 s, respectively. GFP-CSA is also mobile but does not concentrate at discrete foci. After methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) damage, the mobile fraction of focal GFP-Fen1 decreased and t(m) increased, but it then recovered. The mobilities of focal GFP-Pol eta and GFP-PCNA did not change after MMS. The mobility of GFP-CSA did not change after UV-irradiation. These data indicate that the normal replication complex contains at least two mobile subunits. The decrease of the mobile fraction of focal GFP-Fen1 after DNA damage suggests that Fen1 exchange depends on the rate of movement of replication forks.

Non-homologous end-joining factors of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) are considered to be a severe form of DNA damage, because if left unrepaired, they can cause a cell death and, if misrepaired, they can lead to genomic instability and, ultimately, the development of cancer in multicellular organisms. The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae repairs DSB primarily by homologous recombination (HR), despite the presence of the KU70, KU80, DNA ligase IV and XRCC4 homologues, essential factors of the mammalian non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) machinery. S. cerevisiae, however, lacks clear DNA-PKcs and ARTEMIS homologues, two important additional components of mammalian NHEJ. On the other hand, S. cerevisiae is endowed with a regulatory NHEJ component, Nej1, which has not yet been found in other organisms. Furthermore, there is evidence in budding yeast for a requirement for the Mre11/Rad50/Xrs2 complex for NHEJ, which does not appear to be the case either in Schizosaccharomyces pombe or in mammals. Here, we comprehensively describe the functions of all the S. cerevisiae NHEJ components identified so far and present current knowledge about the NHEJ process in this organism. In addition, this review depicts S. cerevisiae as a powerful model system for investigating the utilization of either NHEJ or HR in DSB repair.