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RecA bundles mediate homology pairing between distant sisters during DNA break repair.

ABSTRACT: DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair by homologous recombination has evolved to maintain genetic integrity in all organisms. Although many reactions that occur during homologous recombination are known, it is unclear where, when and how they occur in cells. Here, by using conventional and super-resolution microscopy, we describe the progression of DSB repair in live Escherichia coli. Specifically, we investigate whether homologous recombination can occur efficiently between distant sister loci that have segregated to opposite halves of an E. coli cell. We show that a site-specific DSB in one sister can be repaired efficiently using distant sister homology. After RecBCD processing of the DSB, RecA is recruited to the cut locus, where it nucleates into a bundle that contains many more RecA molecules than can associate with the two single-stranded DNA regions that form at the DSB. Mature bundles extend along the long axis of the cell, in the space between the bulk nucleoid and the inner membrane. Bundle formation is followed by pairing, in which the two ends of the cut locus relocate at the periphery of the nucleoid and together move rapidly towards the homology of the uncut sister. After sister locus pairing, RecA bundles disassemble and proteins that act late in homologous recombination are recruited to give viable recombinants 1-2-generation-time equivalents after formation of the initial DSB. Mutated RecA proteins that do not form bundles are defective in sister pairing and in DSB-induced repair. This work reveals an unanticipated role of RecA bundles in channelling the movement of the DNA DSB ends, thereby facilitating the long-range homology search that occurs before the strand invasion and transfer reactions.

SUBMITTER: Lesterlin C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3925069 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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RecA bundles mediate homology pairing between distant sisters during DNA break repair.

Lesterlin Christian C Ball Graeme G Schermelleh Lothar L Sherratt David J DJ

Nature 20131222 7487

DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair by homologous recombination has evolved to maintain genetic integrity in all organisms. Although many reactions that occur during homologous recombination are known, it is unclear where, when and how they occur in cells. Here, by using conventional and super-resolution microscopy, we describe the progression of DSB repair in live Escherichia coli. Specifically, we investigate whether homologous recombination can occur efficiently between distant sister loci t ...[more]

PMID: 24362571

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Project description:DNA breaks can be repaired with high fidelity by homologous recombination. A ubiquitous protein that is essential for this DNA template-directed repair is RecA. After resection of broken DNA to produce single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), RecA assembles on this ssDNA into a filament with the unique capacity to search and find DNA sequences in double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) that are homologous to the ssDNA. This homology search is vital to recombinational DNA repair, and results in homologous pairing and exchange of DNA strands. Homologous pairing involves DNA sequence-specific target location by the RecA-ssDNA complex. Despite decades of study, the mechanism of this enigmatic search process remains unknown. RecA is a DNA-dependent ATPase, but ATP hydrolysis is not required for DNA pairing and strand exchange, eliminating active search processes. Using dual optical trapping to manipulate DNA, and single-molecule fluorescence microscopy to image DNA pairing, we demonstrate that both the three-dimensional conformational state of the dsDNA target and the length of the homologous RecA-ssDNA filament have important roles in the homology search. We discovered that as the end-to-end distance of the target dsDNA molecule is increased, constraining the available three-dimensional (3D) conformations of the molecule, the rate of homologous pairing decreases. Conversely, when the length of the ssDNA in the nucleoprotein filament is increased, homology is found faster. We propose a model for the DNA homology search process termed 'intersegmental contact sampling', in which the intrinsic multivalent nature of the RecA nucleoprotein filament is used to search DNA sequence space within 3D domains of DNA, exploiting multiple weak contacts to rapidly search for homology. Our findings highlight the importance of the 3D conformational dynamics of DNA, reveal a previously unknown facet of the homology search, and provide insight into the mechanism of DNA target location by this member of a universal family of proteins.

Project description:Double-strand breaks (DSBs) can lead to the loss of genetic information and cell death. Consequently, cells in all domains of life have evolved mechanisms to repair DSBs, including through homologous recombination. Although recombination has been well characterized, the spatial organization of this process in living cells remains poorly understood. Here, we introduced site-specific DSBs in Caulobacter crescentus, and then used time-lapse microscopy to visualize the homology search, DSB repair, and the resegregation of chromosomal DNA. Even loci tethered to opposite cell poles can efficiently release, pair to enable recombination-based repair, and then resegregate to their original locations. Resegregation occurs independent of DNA replication and without disrupting global chromosome organization. Origin-proximal regions are resegregated by the same machinery, ParABS, used to segregate undamaged chromosomes following DNA replication. In contrast, origin-distal regions efficiently resegregate after a DSB independent of ParABS, and likely without dedicated segregation proteins. Instead, we propose that a physical, spring-like force drives the resegregation of origin-distal loci after DSB repair. Caulobacter cells were depleted of DnaA for 1.5 h before synchronization. Swarmer cells were then released into DnaA depleting conditions (without IPTG) and double-strand breaks were induced for 1 h by the addition of 500 ?M vanillate. For control sample, no vanillate was added. Formadehyde (Sigma) was then added to the final concentration of 1%. Formadehyde crosslinks protein-DNA and DNA-DNA together, thereby capturing the structure of the chromosome at the time of fixation. Fixation was performed at the cell density of OD600 = 0.2. The crosslinking reactions were allowed to proceed for 30 minutes at 25 °C before quenching with 2.5 M glycine at a final concentration of 0.125 M. Fixed cells were then pelleted by centrifugation and subsequently washed twice with 1x M2 buffer (6.1 mM Na2HPO4, 3.9 mM KH2PO4, 9.3 mM NH4Cl, 0.5 mM MgSO4, 10 ?M FeSO4, 0.5 mM CaCl2) before resuspending in 1x TE buffer (10 mM Tris-HCl pH 8.0 and 1 mM EDTA) to a final concentration of 107 cells per µl. Resuspended cells were then divided into 25 µl aliquots and stored at -80 °C for no more than 2 weeks. Each Hi-C experiment was performed using two of the 25 µL aliquots. Chromosome conformation capture with next-generation seqeuncing (Hi-C) was carried out exactly as described previously (Le et al., 2013 PMID: 24158908)

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RecA bundles mediate homology pairing between distant sisters during DNA break repair.

Publications

RecA bundles mediate homology pairing between distant sisters during DNA break repair.

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