Project description:Lesions on DNA can uncouple DNA synthesis from helicase unwinding, generating stretches of unreplicated single stranded DNA (ssDNA) behind the replication fork. These ssDNA gaps need to be filled in to complete DNA duplication and thereby avoid the generation of DNA double-stranded breaks (DSBs), a major source of genomic instability. Gap filling repair involves either translesion DNA synthesis (TLS) or template switching (TS) to bypass the lesion. At the heart of these processes, ubiquitylated PCNA recruits many proteins that dictate pathway choice, but the enzymes regulating PCNA ubiquitylation in vertebrates remain poorly defined. Here we report that the E3 ubiquitin ligase RFWD3 promotes non-specific ubiquitylation of proteins on ssDNA, to enhance protein accumulation and stimulate gap filling repair. The absence of RFWD3 leads to a profound defect in recruitment of key repair and signaling factors to damaged chromatin, including ubiquitin and proteins known to ubiquitylate and interact with ubiquitylated PCNA. As a result, PCNA ubiquitylation is severely inhibited without RFWD3, and TLS across different DNA lesions drastically impaired. We propose that RFWD3 is an essential coordinator of the response to ssDNA gaps, where it triggers non-specific ubiquitylation to drive recruitment of effectors of PCNA ubiquitylation and DNA damage bypass.
Project description:Lesions on DNA can uncouple DNA synthesis from helicase unwinding, generating stretches of unreplicated single stranded DNA (ssDNA) behind the replication fork. These ssDNA gaps need to be filled in to complete DNA duplication and thereby avoid the generation of DNA double-stranded breaks (DSBs), a major source of genomic instability. Gap filling repair involves either translesion DNA synthesis (TLS) or template switching (TS) to bypass the lesion. At the heart of these processes, ubiquitylated PCNA recruits many proteins that dictate pathway choice, but the enzymes regulating PCNA ubiquitylation in vertebrates remain poorly defined. Here we report that the E3 ubiquitin ligase RFWD3 promotes non-specific ubiquitylation of proteins on ssDNA, to enhance protein accumulation and stimulate gap filling repair. The absence of RFWD3 leads to a profound defect in recruitment of key repair and signaling factors to damaged chromatin, including ubiquitin and proteins known to ubiquitylate and interact with ubiquitylated PCNA. As a result, PCNA ubiquitylation is severely inhibited without RFWD3, and TLS across different DNA lesions drastically impaired. We propose that RFWD3 is an essential coordinator of the response to ssDNA gaps, where it triggers wide spread ubiquitylation to drive recruitment of effectors of PCNA ubiquitylation and DNA damage bypass.
Project description:Here we report our observations that have led us to propose that the transcription elongation factor NusA promotes a novel class of transcription-coupled repair (TCR) in addition to its previously proposed role in recruiting translesion synthesis (TLS) DNA polymerases to gaps encountered during transcription. Earlier we have reported that NusA physically and genetically interacts with the TLS DNA polymerase DinB (DNA pol IV). We find that Escherichia coli nusA11(ts) mutant strains, at the permissive temperature, are highly sensitive to nitrofurazone (NFZ) and 4-nitroquinolone-1-oxide but not to ultraviolet radiation. Gene expression profiling suggests this sensitivity is unlikely to be due to an indirect effect on gene expression affecting a known DNA repair or damage tolerance pathway. We demonstrate that an N2-furfuryl-dG (N2-f-dG) lesion, a structural analog of the principal lesion generated by NFZ, blocks transcription by E. coli RNA polymerase (RNAP) when present in the transcribed strand, but not when present in the non-transcribed strand. Our genetic analysis suggests that NusA participates in a nucleotide excision repair (NER)-dependent process to promote NFZ resistance. We provide evidence that transcription plays a role in the repair of NFZ-induced lesions through the isolation of RNAP mutants that display altered ability to survive NFZ exposure. We propose that NusA participates in a novel class of TCR involved in the identification and removal of a class of lesion, such as the N2-f-dG lesion, which are accurately and efficiently bypassed by DinB in addition to recruiting DinB for TLS at gaps encountered by RNAP. Wild-type and nusA11 samples were analyzed, with 3 replicates per sample.
Project description:In response to DNA replication stress, DNA replication checkpoint is activated to maintain fork stability, a process critical for maintenance of genome stability. However, how DNA replication checkpoint regulates replication forks remain elusive. Here we show that Rad53, a highly conserved replication checkpoint kinase, functions to couple leading and lagging strand DNA synthesis. In wild type cells under HU induced replication stress, synthesis of lagging strand, which contains ssDNA gaps, is comparable to leading strand DNA. In contrast, synthesis of lagging strand is much more than leading strand, and consequently, leading template ssDNA coated with ssDNA binding protein RPA was detected in rad53-1 mutant cells, suggesting that synthesis of leading strand and lagging strand DNA is uncoupled. Mechanistically, we show that replicative helicase MCM and leading strand DNA polymerase Pole move beyond actual DNA synthesis and that an increase in dNTP pools largely suppresses the uncoupled leading and lagging strand DNA synthesis. Our studies reveal an unexpected mechanism whereby Rad53 regulates replication fork stability.
Project description:Here we report our observations that have led us to propose that the transcription elongation factor NusA promotes a novel class of transcription-coupled repair (TCR) in addition to its previously proposed role in recruiting translesion synthesis (TLS) DNA polymerases to gaps encountered during transcription. Earlier we have reported that NusA physically and genetically interacts with the TLS DNA polymerase DinB (DNA pol IV). We find that Escherichia coli nusA11(ts) mutant strains, at the permissive temperature, are highly sensitive to nitrofurazone (NFZ) and 4-nitroquinolone-1-oxide but not to ultraviolet radiation. Gene expression profiling suggests this sensitivity is unlikely to be due to an indirect effect on gene expression affecting a known DNA repair or damage tolerance pathway. We demonstrate that an N2-furfuryl-dG (N2-f-dG) lesion, a structural analog of the principal lesion generated by NFZ, blocks transcription by E. coli RNA polymerase (RNAP) when present in the transcribed strand, but not when present in the non-transcribed strand. Our genetic analysis suggests that NusA participates in a nucleotide excision repair (NER)-dependent process to promote NFZ resistance. We provide evidence that transcription plays a role in the repair of NFZ-induced lesions through the isolation of RNAP mutants that display altered ability to survive NFZ exposure. We propose that NusA participates in a novel class of TCR involved in the identification and removal of a class of lesion, such as the N2-f-dG lesion, which are accurately and efficiently bypassed by DinB in addition to recruiting DinB for TLS at gaps encountered by RNAP.
Project description:We previously demonstrated that inactivation of the replication checkpoint via a mec1 mutation led to chromosome breakage at replication forks initiated from virtually all origins of replication, after transient exposure to hydroxyurea (HU), an inhibitor of ribonucleotide reductase. Furthermore, we have shown that chromosomes break at replication forks that have suffered single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) formation. Here we sought to determine whether all replication forks containing ssDNA gaps have equal probability of producing double strand breaks (DSBs) when cells attempt to recover from HU exposure. We devised a new methodology, Break-Seq, that combines our previously described DSB labeling with NextGen sequencing to map chromosome breaks with improved sensitivity and resolution. We show that DSBs preferentially occur at genes transcriptionally induced by HU. Notably, different subsets of the HU-induced genes produced DSBs in MEC1 and mec1 cells as replication forks traversed greater distance in MEC1 cells than in mec1 cells during the recovery from HU. Specifically, while MEC1 cells exhibited chromosome breakage at stress-response transcription factors, mec1 cells predominantly suffered chromosome breakage at transporter genes, many of which are the substrates of the said transcription factors. We propose that HU-induced chromosome fragility arises at higher frequency near HU-induced genes as a result of destabilized replication forks encountering transcription factor binding and/or the act of transcription. Our model provides an explanation for a long-standing problem in chromosome biology: why different replication inhibitors produce different spectra of chromosome breakage? We propose that different inhibitors elicit different transcription responses as well as destabilize replication forks, and, when the two processes collide, ssDNA at the replication fork suffers further strand breakage, causing DSBs.
Project description:We previously demonstrated that inactivation of the replication checkpoint via a mec1 mutation led to chromosome breakage at replication forks initiated from virtually all origins of replication, after transient exposure to hydroxyurea (HU), an inhibitor of ribonucleotide reductase. Furthermore, we have shown that chromosomes break at replication forks that have suffered single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) formation. Here we sought to determine whether all replication forks containing ssDNA gaps have equal probability of producing double strand breaks (DSBs) when cells attempt to recover from HU exposure. We devised a new methodology, Break-Seq, that combines our previously described DSB labeling with NextGen sequencing to map chromosome breaks with improved sensitivity and resolution. We show that DSBs preferentially occur at genes transcriptionally induced by HU. Notably, different subsets of the HU-induced genes produced DSBs in MEC1 and mec1 cells as replication forks traversed greater distance in MEC1 cells than in mec1 cells during the recovery from HU. Specifically, while MEC1 cells exhibited chromosome breakage at stress-response transcription factors, mec1 cells predominantly suffered chromosome breakage at transporter genes, many of which are the substrates of the said transcription factors. We propose that HU-induced chromosome fragility arises at higher frequency near HU-induced genes as a result of destabilized replication forks encountering transcription factor binding and/or the act of transcription. Our model provides an explanation for a long-standing problem in chromosome biology: why different replication inhibitors produce different spectra of chromosome breakage? We propose that different inhibitors elicit different transcription responses as well as destabilize replication forks, and, when the two processes collide, ssDNA at the replication fork suffers further strand breakage, causing DSBs.
Project description:Deficiencies in the BRCA1 tumor suppressor gene are the main cause of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. BRCA1 is involved in the Homologous Recombination DNA repair pathway, and, together with BARD1, forms a heterodimer with ubiquitin E3 activity. The relevance of the BRCA1/BARD1 ubiquitin E3 activity for tumor suppression and DNA repair remains controversial and most efforts aimed to identify BRCA1/BARD1 ubiquitination substrates rely on indirect evidence. Here, we observed that the BRCA1/BARD1 ubiquitin E3 activity was not required for Homologous Recombination or resistance to Olaparib. Using TULIP2 methodology, which enables the direct identification of E3-specific ubiquitination substrates, we identified substrates for BRCA1/BARD1. PCNA is ubiquitinated by BRCA1/BARD1 in unperturbed conditions independently of RAD18, avoiding the formation of ssDNA gaps during DNA replication and promoting replication fork stability upon replication stress, solving the controversy about the function of BRCA1/BARD1 E3 activity in Homologous Recombination.
Project description:Single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) widely exists as intermediates in DNA metabolic pathways. The ssDNA binding protein, RPA, not only protects the integrity of ssDNA, but also directs the downstream factor that signals or repairs the ssDNA intermediate. However, it remains unclear how these enzymes/factors out-compete RPA and access to ssDNA. Using the budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as a model system, we discovered that Dna2, a key nuclease in DNA replication and repair, employs a bimodal interface to act with RPA both in cis and in trans. The cis-action renders RPA a processive unit for Dna2-catalyzed ssDNA digestion, where RPA actively delivers its bound ssDNA to Dna2. The trans-action mediated by an acidic patch from Dna2, on the other hand, enables Dna2 to operatie with a sub-optimal amount of RPA or to overcome DNA secondary structures. Genetically, this trans-action mode is not required for cell viability, but indispensable for successful DSB repair.
Project description:We previously demonstrated that inactivation of the replication checkpoint via a mec1 mutation led to chromosome breakage at replication forks initiated from virtually all origins of replication, after transient exposure to hydroxyurea (HU), an inhibitor of ribonucleotide reductase. Furthermore, we have shown that chromosomes break at replication forks that have suffered single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) formation. Here we sought to determine whether all replication forks containing ssDNA gaps have equal probability of producing double strand breaks (DSBs) when cells attempt to recover from HU exposure. We devised a new methodology, Break-Seq, that combines our previously described DSB labeling with NextGen sequencing to map chromosome breaks with improved sensitivity and resolution. We show that DSBs preferentially occur at genes transcriptionally induced by HU. Notably, different subsets of the HU-induced genes produced DSBs in MEC1 and mec1 cells as replication forks traversed greater distance in MEC1 cells than in mec1 cells during the recovery from HU. Specifically, while MEC1 cells exhibited chromosome breakage at stress-response transcription factors, mec1 cells predominantly suffered chromosome breakage at transporter genes, many of which are the substrates of the said transcription factors. We propose that HU-induced chromosome fragility arises at higher frequency near HU-induced genes as a result of destabilized replication forks encountering transcription factor binding and/or the act of transcription. Our model provides an explanation for a long-standing problem in chromosome biology: why different replication inhibitors produce different spectra of chromosome breakage? We propose that different inhibitors elicit different transcription responses as well as destabilize replication forks, and, when the two processes collide, ssDNA at the replication fork suffers further strand breakage, causing DSBs. We queried the yeast genome for gene expression after cells were treated with 200 mM hydroxyurea during S phase. Samples were collected from 1) cells synchronized in G1 phase by alpha factor; 2) cells released from G1 into medium containing 200 mM hydroxyurea for 1 h; 3) cells recovering in fresh medium without hydroxyurea for 30 and 60 min after the 1 h exposure to HU. These samples are referred to as G1, HU 1h, R30, and R60, respectively. The strains from which the samples were collected are indicated before the time point, e.g. mec1_G1 or MEC1_R30. Stranded mRNA libraries were prepared according to manufacturer's suggestion and sequenced on Illumina MiSeq with paired-end reads of 75 bp.