scholarly journals Repair of site-specific double-strand breaks in a mammalian chromosome by homologous and illegitimate recombination.

1997 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 267-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
R G Sargent ◽  
M A Brenneman ◽  
J H Wilson

In mammalian cells, chromosomal double-strand breaks are efficiently repaired, yet little is known about the relative contributions of homologous recombination and illegitimate recombination in the repair process. In this study, we used a loss-of-function assay to assess the repair of double-strand breaks by homologous and illegitimate recombination. We have used a hamster cell line engineered by gene targeting to contain a tandem duplication of the native adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (APRT) gene with an I-SceI recognition site in the otherwise wild-type APRT+ copy of the gene. Site-specific double-strand breaks were induced by intracellular expression of I-SceI, a rare-cutting endonuclease from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. I-SceI cleavage stimulated homologous recombination about 100-fold; however, illegitimate recombination was stimulated more than 1,000-fold. These results suggest that illegitimate recombination is an important competing pathway with homologous recombination for chromosomal double-strand break repair in mammalian cells.

2001 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 196-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. D. Johnson ◽  
M. Jasin

In mammalian cells, the repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) occurs by both homologous and non-homologous mechanisms. Indirect evidence, including that from gene targeting and random integration experiments, had suggested that non-homologous mechanisms were significantly more frequent than homologous ones. However, more recent experiments indicate that homologous recombination is also a prominent DSB repair pathway. These experiments show that mammalian cells use homologous sequences located at multiple positions throughout the genome to repair a DSB. However, template preference appears to be biased, with the sister chromatid being preferred by 2–3 orders of magnitude over a homologous or heterologous chromosome. The outcome of homologous recombination in mammalian cells is predominantly gene conversion that is not associated with crossing-over. The preference for the sister chromatid and the bias against crossing-over seen in mitotic mammalian cells may have developed in order to reduce the potential for genome alterations that could occur when other homologous repair templates are utilized. In attempts to understand further the mechanism of homologous recombination, the proteins that promote this process are beginning to be identified. To date, four mammalian proteins have been demonstrated conclusively to be involved in DSB repair by homologous recombination: Rad54, XRCC2, XRCC3 and BRCAI. This paper summarizes results from a number of recent studies.


Genetics ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 142 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfram Siede ◽  
Anna A Friedl ◽  
Irina Dianova ◽  
Friederike Eckardt-Schupp ◽  
Errol C Friedberg

In mammalian cells, all subunits of the DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) have been implicated in the repair of DNA double-strand breaks and in V(D)J recombination. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we have examined the phenotype conferred by a deletion of HDF1, the putative homologue of the 70-kD subunit of the DNA-end binding Ku complex of DNA-PK. The yeast gene does not play a role in radiation-induced cell cycle checkpoint arrest in G1 and G2 or in hydroxyurea-induced checkpoint arrest in S. In cells competent for homologous recombination, we could not detect any sensitivity to ionizing radiation or to methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) conferred by a hdf1 deletion and indeed, the repair of DNA double-strand breaks was not impaired. However, if homologous recombination was disabled (rad52 mutant background), inactivation of HDF1 results in additional sensitization toward ionizing radiation and MMS. These results give further support to the notion that, in contrast to higher eukaryotic cells, homologous recombination is the favored pathway of double-strand break repair in yeast whereas other competing mechanisms such as the suggested pathway of DNA-PK-dependent direct break rejoining are only of minor importance.


Genetics ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 165 (4) ◽  
pp. 1831-1842 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yikang S Rong ◽  
Kent G Golic

AbstractIn recombinational DNA double-strand break repair a homologous template for gene conversion may be located at several different genomic positions: on the homologous chromosome in diploid organisms, on the sister chromatid after DNA replication, or at an ectopic position. The use of the homologous chromosome in mitotic gene conversion is thought to be limited in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and mammalian cells. In contrast, by studying the repair of double-strand breaks generated by the I-SceI rare-cutting endonuclease, we find that the homologous chromosome is frequently used in Drosophila melanogaster, which we suggest is attributable to somatic pairing of homologous chromosomes in mitotic cells of Drosophila. We also find that Drosophila mitotic cells of the germ line, like yeast, employ the homologous recombinational repair pathway more often than imperfect nonhomologous end joining.


2013 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 314-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
John K. Blackwood ◽  
Neil J. Rzechorzek ◽  
Sian M. Bray ◽  
Joseph D. Maman ◽  
Luca Pellegrini ◽  
...  

During DNA repair by HR (homologous recombination), the ends of a DNA DSB (double-strand break) must be resected to generate single-stranded tails, which are required for strand invasion and exchange with homologous chromosomes. This 5′–3′ end-resection of the DNA duplex is an essential process, conserved across all three domains of life: the bacteria, eukaryota and archaea. In the present review, we examine the numerous and redundant helicase and nuclease systems that function as the enzymatic analogues for this crucial process in the three major phylogenetic divisions.


1988 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 2779-2786
Author(s):  
K S Katz ◽  
D I Ratner

We examined the ability of unlinked nonreplicating plasmid molecules to undergo homologous recombination during cotransformation of Dictyostelium amoebae. The transformation vector B10S confers resistance to the antibiotic G418 and was always presented to amoebae as a closed circle. Cotransforming DNA, containing a slime mold cDNA and sequences homologous to the primary vector, was presented either as a closed circle or as a linear molecule after digestion with restriction endonucleases which cut within one of three distinct regions of the plasmid. Remarkably, homologous recombination occurred in every clone examined. Moreover, the products of recombination were identical in all instances, irrespective of the presence or position of linearized ends. The ends of the linear templates were not recombinogenic. Repair of the introduced double-strand break occurred frequently during recombination. The repair could occur intermolecularly or, more likely, intramolecularly, i.e., by recircularization. Many of the recombination events were of a nonreciprocal nature. Despite the startlingly frequent level of homologous recombination, the use of cotransforming DNA which contains no homology to the selected vector established that such recombination was not required for cotransformation.


1985 ◽  
Vol 5 (12) ◽  
pp. 3331-3336
Author(s):  
K Y Song ◽  
L Chekuri ◽  
S Rauth ◽  
S Ehrlich ◽  
R Kucherlapati

We examined the effect of double-strand breaks on homologous recombination between two plasmids in human cells and in nuclear extracts prepared from human and rodent cells. Two pSV2neo plasmids containing nonreverting, nonoverlapping deletions were cotransfected into cells or incubated with cell extracts. Generation of intact neo genes was monitored by the ability of the DNA to confer G418r to cells or Neor to bacteria. We show that double-strand breaks at the sites of the deletions enhanced recombination frequency, whereas breaks outside the neo gene had no effect. Examination of the plasmids obtained from experiments involving the cell extracts revealed that gene conversion events play an important role in the generation of plasmids containing intact neo genes. Studies with plasmids carrying multiple polymorphic genetic markers revealed that markers located within 1,000 base pairs could be readily coconverted. The frequency of coconversion decreased with increasing distance between the markers. The plasmids we constructed along with the in vitro system should permit a detailed analysis of homologous recombinational events mediated by mammalian enzymes.


1997 ◽  
Vol 17 (11) ◽  
pp. 6386-6393 ◽  
Author(s):  
D G Taghian ◽  
J A Nickoloff

Double-strand breaks (DSBs) stimulate chromosomal and extrachromosomal recombination and gene targeting. Transcription also stimulates spontaneous recombination by an unknown mechanism. We used Saccharomyces cerevisiae I-SceI to stimulate recombination between neo direct repeats in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell chromosomal DNA. One neo allele was controlled by the dexamethasone-inducible mouse mammary tumor virus promoter and inactivated by an insertion containing an I-SceI site at which DSBs were introduced in vivo. The other neo allele lacked a promoter but carried 12 phenotypically silent single-base mutations that create restriction sites (restriction fragment length polymorphisms). This system allowed us to generate detailed conversion tract spectra for recipient alleles transcribed at high or low levels. Transient in vivo expression of I-SceI increased homologous recombination 2,000- to 10,000-fold, yielding recombinants at frequencies as high as 1%. Strikingly, 97% of these products arose by gene conversion. Most products had short, bidirectional conversion tracts, and in all cases, donor neo alleles (i.e., those not suffering a DSB) remained unchanged, indicating that conversion was fully nonreciprocal. DSBs in exogenous DNA are usually repaired by end joining requiring little or no homology or by nonconservative homologous recombination (single-strand annealing). In contrast, we show that chromosomal DSBs are efficiently repaired via conservative homologous recombination, principally gene conversion without associated crossing over. For DSB-induced events, similar recombination frequencies and conversion tract spectra were found under conditions of low and high transcription. Thus, transcription does not further stimulate DSB-induced recombination, nor does it appear to affect the mechanism(s) by which DSBs induce gene conversion.


2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 336-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akihisa Takahashi ◽  
Eiichiro Mori ◽  
Yosuke Nakagawa ◽  
Atsuhisa Kajihara ◽  
Tadaaki Kirita ◽  
...  

2001 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 655-661 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. P. Jackson

DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) can be generated by a variety of genotoxic agents, including ionizing radiation and radiomimetic chemicals. They can also occur when DNA replication complexes encounter other forms of DNA damage, and are produced as intermediates during certain site-specific recombination processes. It is crucial that cells recognize DSBs and bring about their efficient repair, because a single unrepaired cellular DSB can induce cell death, and defective DSB repair can lead to mutations or the loss of significant segments of chromosomal material. Eukaryotic cells have evolved a variety of systems to detect DNA DSBs, repair them, and signal their presence to the transcription, cell cycle and apoptotic machineries. In this review, I describe how work on mammalian cells and also on model organisms such as yeasts has revelaed that such systems are highly conserved throughout evolution, and has provided insights into the molecular mechanisms by which DNA DSBs are recognized, signalled and repaired. I also explain how defects in the proteins that function in these pathways are associated with a variety of human pathological states.


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