Project description:Ubiquitination is a crucial post-translational modification required for the proper repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) induced by ionising radiation (IR). DSBs are mainly repaired through homologous recombination (HR) when template DNA is present and non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) in its absence. Additionally, microhomology-mediated end joining (MMEJ) and single strand annealing (SSA) provide back-up DSBs repair pathways. However, the mechanisms controlling their use remain poorly understood. By employing a high-resolution CRISPR screen of the ubiquitin system after IR, we systematically uncover genes required for cell survival and elucidate a critical role of the E3 ubiquitin ligase SCFcyclin F in cell cycle dependent DSB repair. We show that SCFcyclin F -mediated EXO1 degradation prevents DNA end resection in mitosis, allowing MMEJ to take place. Moreover, we identify a conserved cyclin F recognition motif, distinct from the one used by other cyclins, with broad implications in cyclin specificity for cell cycle control.
Project description:SPO11-promoted DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) formation is a crucial step for meiotic recombination, and it is indispensable to detect the broken DNA ends accurately for dissecting the molecular mechanisms behind. Here, we report a novel technique, named DEtail-seq (DNA End tailing followed by sequencing), that can directly and quantitatively capture the meiotic DSB 3’ overhang hotspots at single-nucleotide resolution.
Project description:DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) can be repaired by several pathways. In eukaryotes, repair pathway choice – the cellular decision making underlying DSB repair – occurs at the level of DSB resection and is controlled by the cell cycle. Upon cell cycle-dependent activation, cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) phosphorylate resection proteins and thereby stimulate DSB resection and repair by homologous recombination (HR). We uncovered a novel role for the Dbf4-dependent kinase Cdc7 (DDK) in regulating HR and DNA end resection. We therefore analyzed phosphorylation substrates of DDK by phosphoproteomics, where we compared wild type, bob1-1 and bob1-1dbf4∆ cells in M-phase arrested S.cerevisiae.
Project description:The Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1 (MRN) complex recognizes and processes DNA double-strand breaks for homologous recombination by performing short-range removal of 5ʹ strands. Endonucleolytic processing by MRN requires a stably bound protein at the break site—a role we postulate is played by DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) in mammals. Here we interrogate sites of MRN-dependent processing by identifying sites of CtIP association and by sequencing DNA- PK-bound DNA fragments that are products of MRN cleavage. These intermediates are generated most efficiently when DNA-PK is catalytically blocked, yielding products within 200 bp of the break site, whereas DNA-PK products in the absence of kinase inhibition show greater dispersal. Use of light-activated Cas9 to induce breaks facilitates temporal resolution of DNA- PK and Mre11 binding, showing that both complexes bind to DNA ends before release of DNA- PK-bound products. These results support a sequential model of double-strand break repair involving collaborative interactions between homologous and non-homologous repair complexes.
Project description:DNA topoisomerases are required to resolve DNA topological stress. Despite this essential role, abortive topoisomerase activity generates aberrant protein-linked DNA breaks, jeopardising genome stability. Here, to understand the genomic distribution and mechanisms underpinning topoisomerase-induced DNA breaks, we map Top2 DNA cleavage with strand-specific nucleotide resolution across the S. cerevisiae and human genomes—and use the meiotic Spo11 protein to validate the broad applicability of this method to explore the role of diverse topoisomerase family members. Our data characterises Mre11-dependent repair in yeast and defines two strikingly different fractions of Top2 activity in humans: tightly localised CTCF-proximal, and broadly distributed transcription-proximal, the latter correlated with gene length and expression. Moreover, single nucleotide accuracy reveals the influence primary DNA sequence has upon Top2 cleavage—distinguishing sites likely to form canonical DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) from those predisposed to form strand-biased DNA single-strand breaks (SSBs) induced by etoposide (VP16) in vivo.
Project description:In the bacterium Escherichia coli, RecG directs DNA synthesis during the repair of DNA double-strand breaks by homologous recombination. Examination of RecA binding during double-strand break repair in Escherichia coli in the presence and absence of RecG protein