Rad52 Mutant Strain Research Articles

Base excision repair of both uracil and oxidatively damaged bases contribute to thymidine deprivation-induced radiosensitization

Increased cellular sensitivity to ionizing radiation due to thymidine depletion is the basis of radiosensitization with fluoropyrimidine and methotrexate. The mechanism responsible for cytotoxicity has not been fully elucidated but appears to involve both the introduction of uracil into, and its removal from, DNA. The role of base excision repair of uracil and oxidatively damaged bases in creating the increased radiosensitization during thymidine depletion is examined. Isogenic strains of S. cerevisiae differing only at loci involved in DNA repair functions were exposed to aminopterin and sulfanilamide to induce thymidine deprivation. Cultures were irradiated and survival determined by clonogenic survival assay. Strains lacking uracil base excision repair (BER) activities demonstrated less radiosensitization than the parental strain. Mutant strains continued to show partial radiosensitization with aminopterin treatment. Mutants deficient in BER of both uracil and oxidatively damaged bases did not demonstrate radiosensitization. A recombination deficient rad52 mutant strain was markedly sensitive to radiation; addition of aminopterin increased radiosensitivity only slightly. Radiosensitization observed in rad52 mutants was also abolished by deletion of the APN1, NTG1, and NTG2 genes. These data suggest radiosensitization during thymidine depletion is the result of BER activities directed at both uracil and oxidatively damaged bases.

Genome wide distribution of illegitimate recombination events in Kluyveromyces lactis.

Illegitimate recombination (IR) is the process by which two DNA molecules not sharing homology to each other are joined. In Kluyveromyces lactis, integration of heterologous DNA occurred very frequently therefore constituting an excellent model organism to study IR. IR was completely dependent on the nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) pathway for DNA double strand break (DSB) repair and we detected no other pathways capable of mediating IR. NHEJ was very versatile, capable of repairing both blunt and non-complementary ends efficiently. Mapping the locations of genomic IR-events revealed target site preferences, in which intergenic regions (IGRs) and ribosomal DNA were overrepresented six-fold compared to open reading frames (ORFs). The IGR-events occurred predominantly within transcriptional regulatory regions. In a rad52 mutant strain IR still preferentially occurred at IGRs, indicating that DSBs in ORFs were not primarily repaired by homologous recombination (HR). Introduction of ectopic DSBs resulted in the efficient targeting of IR to these sites, strongly suggesting that IR occurred at spontaneous mitotic DSBs. The targeting efficiency was equal when ectopic breaks were introduced in an ORF or an IGR. We propose that spontaneous DSBs arise more frequently in transcriptional regulatory regions and in rDNA and such DSBs can be mapped by analyzing IR target sites.

Effects of hexavalent chromium on the survival and cell cycle distribution of DNA repair-deficient S. cerevisiae

A broad spectrum of genetic damage results from exposure to hexavalent chromium. These lesions can result in DNA and RNA polymerase arrest, chromosomal aberrations, point mutations and deletions. Because of the complexity of Cr genotoxicity, the repair of Cr(VI)-induced DNA damage is poorly understood. Therefore, our aim was to investigate the sensitivities of DNA repair-deficient Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains to Cr(VI)-induced growth inhibition and lethality. Wild-type, translesion synthesis ( rev3) and excision repair ( apn1, ntg1, ntg2, rad1) mutants exhibited similar survival following Cr(VI) treatment (0–50 mM) and underwent at least one population doubling within 2–4 h post-treatment. The simultaneous loss of several excision repair genes ( apn1 rad1 ntg1 ntg2) led to slower growth after Cr(VI) exposure (10 mM) manifested as an initial delay in S phase progression. Higher concentrations of Cr(VI) (25 mM) resulted in a prolonged transit through S phase in every strain tested. A G 2/M arrest was evident within 1–2 h after Cr(VI) treatment (10 mM) in all strains and cells subsequently divided after this transient delay. In contrast to all other strains, only recombination-deficient ( rad52, rad52 rev3) yeast were markedly hypersensitive towards Cr(VI) lethality. RAD52 mutant strains ( rad52, rad52 rev3) also exhibited a significant delay (>6 h) in the resumption of replication after Cr(VI) exposure which was related to the immediate and apparently terminal arrest of these yeast in G 2/M after Cr(VI) treatment. These results, taken together with the recombinogenic effects of Cr(VI) in yeast containing a functional RAD52 gene, suggest that RAD52-mediated recombination is critical for the normal processing of lethal Cr-induced genetic lesions and exit from G 2 arrest. Furthermore, only the combined inactivation of multiple excision repair genes affects cell growth after Cr(VI) treatment.

Identification of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ku80 homologue: roles in DNA double strand break rejoining and in telomeric maintenance.

Ku is a heterodimer of polypeptides of approximately 70 and 80 kDa (Ku70 and Ku80, respectively) that binds to DNA ends. Mammalian cells lacking Ku are defective in DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair and in site-specific V(D)J recombination. Here, we describe the identification and characterisation of YKU80, the gene for the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ku80 homologue. Significantly, we find that YKU80 disruption enhances the radiosensitivity of rad52 mutant strains, suggesting that YKU80 functions in a DNA DSB repair pathway that does not rely on homologous recombination. Indeed, through using an in vivo plasmid rejoining assay, we find that YKU80 plays an essential role in illegitimate recombination events that result in the accurate repair of restriction enzyme generated DSBs. Interestingly, in the absence of YKU80function, residual repair operates through an error-prone pathway that results in recombination between short direct repeat elements. This resembles closely a predominant DSB repair pathway in vertebrates. Together, our data suggest that multiple, evolutionarily conserved mechanisms for DSB repair exist in eukaryotes. Furthermore, they imply that Ku binds to DSBs in vivo and promotes repair both by enhancing accurate DNA end joining and by suppressing alternative error-prone repair pathways. Finally, we report that yku80 mutant yeasts display dramatic telomeric shortening, suggesting that, in addition to recognising DNA damage, Ku also binds to naturally occurring chromosomal ends. These findings raise the possibility that Ku protects chromosomal termini from nucleolytic attack and functions as part of a telomeric length sensing system.

Unrepaired heteroduplex DNA in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is decreased in RAD1 RAD52-independent recombination.

A direct repeat recombination assay between SUP4 heteroalleles detects unrepaired heteroduplex DNA (hDNA) as sectored colonies. The frequency of unrepaired heteroduplex is dependent on the mismatch and is highest in a construct that generates C:C or G:G mispairs and lowest in one that generates T:G or C:A mispairs. In addition, unrepaired hDNA increases for all mismatches tested in pms1 mismatch repair-deficient strains. These results support the notion that hDNA is formed across the SUP4 repeats during the recombination event and is then subject to mismatch repair. The effects of various repair and recombination defective mutations on this assay were examined. Unrepaired heteroduplex increases significantly only in rad52 mutant strains. In addition, direct repeat recombination is reduced 2-fold in rad52 mutant strains, while in rad51, rad54, rad55 and rad57 mutants direct repeat recombination is increased 3-4-fold. Mutations in the excision repair gene, RAD1, do not affect the frequency of direct repeat recombination. However, the level of unrepaired heteroduplex is slightly decreased in rad1 mutant strains. Similar to previous studies, rad1 rad52 double mutants show a synergistic reduction in direct repeat recombination (35-fold). Interestingly, unrepaired heteroduplex is reduced 4-fold in the double mutants. Experiments with shortened repeats suggest that the reduction in unrepaired heteroduplex is due to decreased hDNA tract length in the double mutant strain.

A Model System to Assess the Integrity of Mammalian YACs during Transformation and Propagation in Yeast

Yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs) containing mammalian DNA potentially can undergo deletions during transformation and propagation, possibly due to interactions between repeat DNAs. To study factors involved in such rearrangements, we developed a genetic system that can signal physical changes. An Alu-HIS3-Alu cassette has been targeted to a mitotically stable YAC containing a 360-kb DNA insert of human chromosome 2. Five YACs with the cassette integrated at different positions were examined for loss of the internal HIS3 marker during transformation into yeast and subsequent growth. The average frequency of the internal marker loss in mitotically growing cells was approximately 1.0 × 10 -4. Physical analysis of His - YACs retaining both telomeric markers demonstrated that loss of the marker was due to deletions (20-90 kb). These results contrast with those obtained with YACs following transformation. Nearly 33% of the retransformed YACs lacked the internal HIS3 marker. The transformation-associated loss was also due to deletions varying from 80 to 260 kb. Similar results were obtained following retransformation with the parent human YAC and another mitotically stable YAC containing a 390-kb insert of mouse DNA. The high level of transformation-associated deletions in the human YACs was reduced over 10-fold when the host was a recombination-deficient strain deleted for the RAD52 gene. The level of internal human YAC instability during mitotic growth was also significantly decreased in the rad52 mutant strain compared to that in the isogenic Rad + strain. However, retransformation of the rad52 mutant with a YAC-containing mouse DNA yielded comparable levels of alterations to those observed for the wildtype strain. Thus, there must be additional genetic factors involved in transformation-associated deletions in YACs. We propose that these YACs and strains can be useful tools for investigating YAC integrity. During the course of these studies a unique category of deletions was identified in mitotically propagated YACs that result from recombination between identical sequences in the telomeric region and the HIS3 cassette. In addition to the known YAC "fragmentation" method, this may provide a means for generating internal deletions as well as an alternative method for mapping.

Homologous, homeologous, and illegitimate repair of double-strand breaks during transformation of a wild-type strain and a rad52 mutant strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Different modes of in vivo repair of double-strand breaks (DSBs) have been described for various organisms: the recombinational DSB repair (DSBR) mode, the single-strand annealing (SSA) mode, and end-to-end joining. To investigate these modes of DSB repair in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we have examined the fate of in vitro linearized replicative plasmids during transformation with respect to several parameters. We found that (i) the efficiencies of both intramolecular and intermolecular linear plasmid DSB repair are homology dependent (according to the amount of DNA used during transformation [100 ng or less], recombination between similar but not identical [homeologous] P450s sequences sharing 73% identity is 2- to 18-fold lower than recombination between identical sequences); (ii) the RAD52 gene product is not essential for intramolecular recombination between homologous and homeologous direct repeats (as in the wild-type strain, recombination occurs with respect to the overall alignment of the parental sequences); (iii) in contrast, the RAD52 gene product is required for intermolecular interactions (the rare transformants which are obtained contain plasmids resulting from deletion-forming intramolecular events involving little or no sequence homology); (iv) similarly, sequencing data revealed examples of intramolecular joining within the few terminal nucleotides of the transforming DNA upon transformation with a linear plasmid with no repeat in the wild-type strain. The recombinant junctions of the rare illegitimate events obtained with S. cerevisiae are very similar to those observed in the repair of DSB in mammalian cells. Together, these and previous results suggest the existence of alternative modes for DSB repair during transformation which differ in their efficiencies and in the structure of their products. We discuss the implications of these results with respect to the existence of alternative pathways and the role of the RAD52 gene product.

Site-specific recombination determined by I-SceI, a mitochondrial group I intron-encoded endonuclease expressed in the yeast nucleus.

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae mitochondrial endonuclease I-SceI creates a double-strand break as the initiating step in the gene conversional transfer of the omega+ intron to omega- DNA. We have expressed a galactose-inducible synthetic I-SceI gene in the nucleus of yeast that also carries the I-SceI recognition site on a plasmid substrate. We find that the galactose-induced I-SceI protein can be active in the nucleus and efficiently catalyze recombination. With a target plasmid containing direct repeats of the Escherichia coli lacZ gene, one copy of which is interrupted by a 24-bp cutting site, galactose induction produces both deletions and gene conversions. Both the kinetics and the proportion of deletions and gene conversions are very similar to analogous events initiated by a galactose-inducible HO endonuclease gene. We also find that, in a rad52 mutant strain, the repair of double-strand breaks initiated by I-SceI and by HO are similarly affected: the formation of deletions is reduced, but not eliminated. Altogether, these results suggest either that the two endonucleases act in the same way after double-strand break formation or that the two endonucleases are not involved in subsequent steps.

Electroporation-stimulated recombination in yeast

Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells treated by high voltage and made transformation-competent (electroporation) are also made hyper-recombinational as determined by an assay that measures interchromosomal mitotic recombination between chromosome III homologs, each containing mutant heteroallelic copies of the trp1 and his3 genes. There is a 10-fold stimulation of Trp+ and 21-fold stimulation of His+ prototrophs. Although this stimulation coincides with conditions for maximal transformation competence it is independent of the presence of transforming plasmid DNA. Electroporation does not increase the reversion frequency of these mutations, nor is there a stimulation in Ty transposition. Among the electroporation-stimulated Trp+ and His+ recombinants there is no dramatic difference in the pattern of events: that is to say that, while there is an increase in the number of recombinants, the distribution of gene conversion and cross-over events among the stimulated recombinants is not significantly altered compared to spontaneously arising Trp+ and His+ recombinants. This electroporation-stimulated recombination is abolished in an isogenic rad52 mutant strain consistent with the increase in Trp+ and His+ prototrophs being the result of a stimulation of a RAD52-dependent recombination pathway.

Direction of chromosome rearrangements in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by use of his3 recombinational substrates.

We used the his3 recombinational substrates (his3 fragments) to direct large interchromosomal (translocations) and intrachromosomal (deletions and tandem duplications) rearrangements in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In strains completely deleted for the wild-type HIS3 gene, his3 fragments, one containing a deletion of 5' amino acid coding sequences and the other containing a deletion of 3' amino acid coding sequences, were first placed at preselected sites by homologous recombination. His+ revertants that arose via spontaneous mitotic recombination between the two his3 fragments were selected. This strategy was used to direct rearrangements in both RAD52+ and rad52 mutant strains. Translocations occurred in the RAD52+ genetic background and were characterized by orthogonal field alternating gel electrophoresis of yeast chromosomal DNA and by standard genetic techniques. An unexpected translocation was also identified in which HIS3 sequences were amplified. Two types of tandem duplications of the GAL(7, 10, 1) locus were also directed, and one type was not observed in rad52 mutants. Recombination mechanisms are discussed to account for these differences.

Direction of Chromosome Rearrangements in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by Use of his3 Recombinational Substrates

We used the his3 recombinational substrates (his3 fragments) to direct large interchromosomal (translocations) and intrachromosomal (deletions and tandem duplications) rearrangements in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In strains completely deleted for the wild-type HIS3 gene, his3 fragments, one containing a deletion of 5' amino acid coding sequences and the other containing a deletion of 3' amino acid coding sequences, were first placed at preselected sites by homologous recombination. His+ revertants that arose via spontaneous mitotic recombination between the two his3 fragments were selected. This strategy was used to direct rearrangements in both RAD52+ and rad52 mutant strains. Translocations occurred in the RAD52+ genetic background and were characterized by orthogonal field alternating gel electrophoresis of yeast chromosomal DNA and by standard genetic techniques. An unexpected translocation was also identified in which HIS3 sequences were amplified. Two types of tandem duplications of the GAL(7, 10, 1) locus were also directed, and one type was not observed in rad52 mutants. Recombination mechanisms are discussed to account for these differences.

Transcriptional regulation of DNA damage responsive (DDR) genes in different rad mutant strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The roles of the RAD genes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in the regulation of transcription of two DNA damage responsive (DDR) genes were investigated by examining the levels of the DDRA2 and DDR48 transcripts in different rad mutants after exposure to two different DNA damaging agents. Strains carrying mutations in either the RAD3, RAD6 or RAD52 genes were treated with increasing concentrations of 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (NQO) or N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) and the DDR transcript levels were determined by Northern hybridization analysis. Our results indicate that the RAD3 gene is required for DDRA2 transcript production following NQO or MNNG treatments. Strains carrying mutations in either the RAD6 or RAD52 genes show an increased level of DDRA2 transcript in undamaged cells. However, the rad6 and rad52 mutants show a normal dose-dependent increase in DDRA2 transcript levels after NQO or MNNG exposure. The DDR48 gene appears to be regulated differently from DDRA2 in that this gene is induced in rad3 cells after damaging treatment but transcript induction is severely reduced in both rad6 and rad52 mutant strains. Although the rad mutations influence the kinetics of transcript accumulation, these effects do not account for the altered dose responses of the DDRA2 and DDR48 genes. Our results also demonstrate that the regulation of DDRA2 and DDR48 transcript levels by heat shock treatment is affected less severely in the different rad strains, a result which suggests that the RAD genes play an indirect role in DDR gene control.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)