Numt-mediated double-strand break repair mitigates deletions during primate genome evolution.

ABSTRACT: Non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) is the major mechanism of double-strand break repair (DSBR) in mammalian cells. NHEJ has traditionally been inferred from experimental systems involving induced double strand breaks (DSBs). Whether or not the spectrum of repair events observed in experimental NHEJ reflects the repair of natural breaks by NHEJ during chromosomal evolution is an unresolved issue. In primate phylogeny, nuclear DNA sequences of mitochondrial origin, numts, are inserted into naturally occurring chromosomal breaks via NHEJ. Thus, numt integration sites harbor evidence for the mechanisms that act on the genome over evolutionary timescales. We have identified 35 and 55 lineage-specific numts in the human and chimpanzee genomes, respectively, using the rhesus monkey genome as an ou

SUBMITTER: Hazkani-Covo E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2567098 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature