RAD51-mediated R-loop formation acts to repair transcription-associated DNA breaks driving antigenic variation in Trypanosoma brucei.

ABSTRACT: RNA-DNA hybrids are epigenetic features of all genomes that intersect with many processes, including transcription, telomere homeostasis, and centromere function. Increasing evidence suggests that RNA-DNA hybrids can provide two conflicting roles in the maintenance and transmission of genomes: They can be the triggers of DNA damage, leading to genome change, or can aid the DNA repair processes needed to respond to DNA lesions. Evasion of host immunity by African trypanosomes, such as Trypanosoma brucei, relies on targeted recombination of silent Variant Surface Glycoprotein (VSG) genes into a specialized telomeric locus that directs transcription of just one VSG from thousands. How such VSG recombination is targeted and initiated is unclear. Here, we show that a

SUBMITTER: Girasol MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10691351 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature