Non-damaged DNA Research Articles

Negative superhelicity promotes ATP-dependent binding of yeast RAD3 protein to ultraviolet-damaged DNA.

The RAD3 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is required for excision repair of UV-damaged DNA and is essential for cell viability. Remarkable homology exists between RAD3 and the human excision repair gene XPD, whose mutational inactivation underlies the cancer-prone disorder in xeroderma pigmentosum group D patients. Our previous work demonstrated that RAD3-encoded protein contains a DNA helicase activity. Here, we show that RAD3 binds preferentially to UV-damaged DNA over nondamaged DNA. Removal of pyrimidine dimers from damaged DNA by enzymatic photoreactivation does not affect binding, suggesting an affinity of RAD3 for pyrimidine (6-4) pyrimidone photoproducts. Damage-specific binding by RAD3 is strongly dependent on ATP and on the degree of negative superhelicity in DNA. The requirement of superhelicity in damage binding may target RAD3 to regions of DNA undergoing transcription, resulting in the preferential repair of these regions. The rad3 Arg-48 mutant protein, which lacks the DNA helicase activity, also binds UV-damaged DNA preferentially, indicating that DNA helicase and damage binding are two distinct and separable functional entities in RAD3.

Incision of damaged versus nondamaged DNA by the Escherichia coli UvrABC proteins.

Incision of damaged DNA by the Escherichia coli UvrABC endonuclease requires the UvrA, UvrB, and UvrC proteins as well as ATP hydrolysis. This incision reaction can be divided into three steps: site recognition, preincision complex formation, and incision. UvrAB is able to execute the first two steps in the reaction while the addition of UvrC is required for the incision of DNA. This incision reaction does not require ATP hydrolysis and results in the formation of a tight UvrABC post-incision complex and the generation of an oligomer of approximately 12 nucleotides. At high UvrABC concentrations the specificity of the incision for damaged DNA is decreased and significant incision of undamaged DNA occurs. Analogous to damage specific incision, this type of incision leads to generation of an oligonucleotide, but in this case the size is approximately 9 nucleotides in length. Further evidence shows that the combination of UvrB and UvrC proteins can generate a significant amount of a similar size product on undamaged DNA. In addition, the UvrC protein alone can generate a small amount of the same product. Immunological characterization of the weak nuclease activity seen with UvrC indicates that the activity is very tightly associated with the purified UvrC protein.