Causes and Effects of Loss of Classical Nonhomologous End Joining Pathway in Parasitic Eukaryotes.

ABSTRACT: We report frequent losses of components of the classical nonhomologous end joining pathway (C-NHEJ), one of the main eukaryotic tools for end joining repair of DNA double-strand breaks, in several lineages of parasitic protists. Moreover, we have identified a single lineage among trypanosomatid flagellates that has lost Ku70 and Ku80, the core C-NHEJ components, and accumulated numerous insertions in many protein-coding genes. We propose a correlation between these two phenomena and discuss the possible impact of the C-NHEJ loss on genome evolution and transition to the parasitic lifestyle.IMPORTANCE Parasites tend to evolve small and compact genomes, generally endowed with a high mutation rate, compared with those of their free-living relatives. However, the mechanisms by which the

SUBMITTER: Nenarokova A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6635534 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature