Impact of chromatin context on Cas9-induced DNA double-strand break repair pathway balance.

ABSTRACT: DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair is mediated by multiple pathways. It is thought that the local chromatin context affects the pathway choice, but the underlying principles are poorly understood. Using a multiplexed reporter assay in combination with Cas9 cutting, we systematically measure the relative activities of three DSB repair pathways as a function of chromatin context in >1,000 genomic locations. This reveals that non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) is broadly biased toward euchromatin, while the contribution of microhomology-mediated end-joining (MMEJ) is higher in specific heterochromatin contexts. In H3K27me3-marked heterochromatin, inhibition of the H3K27 methyltransferase EZH2 reverts the balance toward NHEJ. Single-stranded template repair (SSTR), often used for precise CRIS

SUBMITTER: Schep R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8153251 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature