Decision-making during NHEJ: a network of interactions in human Polμ implicated in substrate recognition and end-bridging.

ABSTRACT: Human Polμ is a DNA polymerase belonging to the X family that has been implicated in the non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) pathway during repair of double-strand breaks in DNA. Loop1 is a flexible piece of Polμ which has a critical role during terminal transferase and end-joining activities: it acts as a pseudo-template when the template strand is discontinuous or unavailable, whilst diffusing away if present to avoid steric clashes. Mutational analysis and inspection of the 3D structures available allowed us to identify a network of residues in charge of sensing the presence or absence of discontinuities in the template strand, which will in turn determine the final position adopted by Loop1. This network is formed by the previously uncharacterized thumb mini-loop (NSH motif) and the posi

SUBMITTER: Martin MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4081086 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature