TY - JOUR

T1 - A 160-bp palindrome is a Rad50.Rad32-dependent mitotic recombination hotspot in Schizosaccharomyces pombe

AU - Farah, Joseph A

AU - Hartsuiker, Edgar

AU - Mizuno, Ken-ichi

AU - Ohta, Kunihiro

AU - Smith, Gerald R

PY - 2002/5

Y1 - 2002/5

N2 - Palindromic sequences can form hairpin and cruciform structures that pose a threat to genome integrity. We found that a 160-bp palindrome (an inverted repeat of 80 bp) conferred a mitotic recombination hotspot relative to a control nonpalindromic sequence when inserted into the ade6 gene of Schizosaccharomyces pombe. The hotspot activity of the palindrome, but not the basal level of recombination, was abolished by a rad50 deletion, by a rad50S "separation of function" mutation, or by a rad32-D25A mutation in the nuclease domain of the Rad32 protein, an Mre11 homolog. We propose that upon extrusion of the palindrome the Rad50.Rad32 nuclease complex recognizes and cleaves the secondary structure thus formed and generates a recombinogenic break in the DNA.

AB - Palindromic sequences can form hairpin and cruciform structures that pose a threat to genome integrity. We found that a 160-bp palindrome (an inverted repeat of 80 bp) conferred a mitotic recombination hotspot relative to a control nonpalindromic sequence when inserted into the ade6 gene of Schizosaccharomyces pombe. The hotspot activity of the palindrome, but not the basal level of recombination, was abolished by a rad50 deletion, by a rad50S "separation of function" mutation, or by a rad32-D25A mutation in the nuclease domain of the Rad32 protein, an Mre11 homolog. We propose that upon extrusion of the palindrome the Rad50.Rad32 nuclease complex recognizes and cleaves the secondary structure thus formed and generates a recombinogenic break in the DNA.

KW - DNA-Binding Proteins

KW - Diploidy

KW - Fungal Proteins

KW - Haploidy

KW - Mitosis

KW - Plasmids

KW - Rad52 DNA Repair and Recombination Protein

KW - Recombination, Genetic

KW - Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid

KW - Saccharomyces cerevisiae

KW - Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins

KW - Schizosaccharomyces

KW - Journal Article

KW - Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

M3 - Article

C2 - 12019258

VL - 161

SP - 461

EP - 468

JO - Genetics

JF - Genetics

SN - 0016-6731

IS - 1

ER -