Kinetochores,cohesin, and DNA breaks: Controlling meiotic recombination within pericentromeres

In meiosis, DNA break formation and repair are essential for the formation of crossovers between homologous chromosomes. Without crossover formation, faithful meiotic chromosome segregation and sexual reproduction cannot occur. Crossover formation is initiated by the programmed, meiosis-specific introduction of numerous DNA double-strand breaks, after which specific repair pathways promote recombination between homologous chromosomes. Despite its crucial nature, meiotic recombination is fraud with danger: When positioned or repaired inappropriately, DNA breaks can have catastrophic consequences on genome stability of the resulting gametes. As such, DNA break formation and repair needs to be carefully controlled. Within centromeres and surrounding regions (i.e., pericentromeres), meiotic crossover recombination is repressed in organisms ranging from yeast to humans, and a failure to do so is implicated in chromosome missegregation and developmental aneuploidy. (Peri)centromere sequence identity and organization diverge considerably across eukaryotes, yet suppression of meiotic DNA break formation and repair appear universal. Here, we discuss emerging work that has used budding and fission yeast systems to study the mechanisms underlying pericentromeric suppression of DNA break formation and repair. We particularly highlight a role for the kinetochore, a universally conserved, centromere-associated structure essential for chromosome segregation, in suppressing (peri)centromeric DNA break formation and repair. We discuss the current understanding of kinetochore-associated and chromosomal factors involved in this regulation and suggest future avenues of research.     

Modulation of meiotic homologous recombination by DNA helicases

DNA helicases are ATP‐driven motor proteins which translocate along DNA capable of dismantling DNA‐DNA interactions and/or removing proteins bound to DNA. These biochemical capabilities make DNA helicases main regulators of crucial DNA metabolic processes, including DNA replication, DNA repair, and genetic recombination. This budding topic will focus on reviewing the function of DNA helicases important for homologous recombination during meiosis, and discuss recent advances in how these modulators of meiotic recombination are themselves regulated. The emphasis is placed on work in the two model yeasts, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe, which has vastly expanded our understanding of meiotic homologous recombination, a process whose correct execution is instrumental for healthy gamete formation, and thus functioning sexual reproduction. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Escherichia coli RecA protein complements recombination defective phenotype of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae rad52 mutant cells

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae rad52 mutants are sensitive to many DNA damaging agents, mainly to those that induce DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). In the yeast, DSBs are repaired primarily by homologous recombination (HR). Since almost all HR events are significantly reduced in the rad52 mutant cells, the Rad52 protein is believed to be a key component of HR in S. cerevisiae. Similarly to the S. cerevisiae Rad52 protein, RecA is the main HR protein in Escherichia coli. To address the question of whether the E. coli RecA protein can rescue HR defective phenotype of the rad52 mutants of S. cerevisiae, the recA gene was introduced into the wild-type and rad52 mutant cells. Cell survival and DSBs induction and repair were studied in the RecA-expressing wild-type and rad52 mutant cells after exposure to ionizing radiation (IR) and methyl methanesulphonate (MMS). Here, we show that expression of the E. coli RecA protein partially complemented sensitivity and fully complemented DSB repair defect of the rad52 mutant cells after exposure to IR and MMS. We suggest that in the absence of Rad52, when all endogenous HR mechanisms are knocked out in S. cerevisiae, the heterologous E. coli RecA protein itself presumably takes over the broken DNA.     

Enhancement of repair of radiation induced DNA strand breaks in human cells by Ganoderma mushroom polysaccharides

The DNA repair ability of a cell is vital to the integrity of its genome and thus to its normal functioning and that of the organism. The repair-enhancing property of polysaccharides isolated from Ganoderma lucidum which belongs to the polyporaceae family was determined by comet assay in human peripheral blood leukocytes. Comet parameters were studied at 2 Gy gamma irradiation with 15 min intervals. The comet parameters after 2 Gy exposures to γ-radiation were reduced to nearly normal levels after 120 min of exposure. The polysaccharides from G. lucidum enhance the repair process, which is a promising approach for protection from radiation exposure, but a detailed study of the molecular mechanism is needed for further application.     

食物成分对肠道细胞DNA双链断裂损伤的保护作用及机制研究进展

DNA双链断裂作为最严重的DNA损伤是引起人体基因组不稳定和引起基因疾病形成的潜在因素.研究发现,多种食物成分具有抑制DNA双链断裂、促进DNA损伤修复的功能.本文主要概括了近20年来国内外报道的对DNA双链断裂损伤具有调节功能的食物成分,从抗氧化作用、调节DNA损伤修复和抗氧化同时调节DNA损伤修复3个方面阐述了食物...     

Enhancement of the thermostability and activity of mesophilic Clostridium cellulovorans EngD by in vitro DNA recombination with Clostridium thermocellum CelE

The thermal stability and catalytic activity of endoglucanase (EngD) from mesophilic Clostridium cellulovorans were improved by evolutionary molecular engineering. Thermostable mutants were isolated after staggered extension process (StEP) with celE from thermophilic Clostridium thermocellum performed to conduct family shuffling and overlay screening of the resultant mutant library. The relative activity of the best-evolved clone has been improved of about 2 times higher at 50 °C and showed a higher k_cat/K_m value than its engD parental clone. We determined that these variants had two amino acid substitutions (L157N, Q158E) and confirmed their effects by substituting these amino acids in the parental gene by site-directed mutagenesis. These substitutions resulted in an increase in hydrophilic or charged residues. Our results demonstrate that in vitro recombination is an effective approach to improve the thermostability and enzymatic activity of a mesophilic enzyme.     

Mechanism of DNA damage induced by arecaidine: The role of Cu(II) and alkaline conditions

Betel quid chewing is a widely prevalent habit correlated with a high incidence of oral cancer. However, the underlying mechanism of the carcinogenicity of betel quid chewing is poorly understood. In the present study, the carcinogenic mechanism of action of betel quid chewing was examined by determining DNA damage induced by arecaidine and Cu(II). It was found that arecaidine alone had no significant effect on inducing DNA damage, but it caused significant DNA double stand breaks in the presence of Cu(II) ions under alkaline conditions. Further studies showed that reactive oxygen species were generated and Cu(I) was formed in the reaction. The arecaidine anion exhibited a lower IP and a higher HOMO energy than arecaidine itself, suggesting an increased ability to donate electrons under alkaline pH conditions. These results suggest that the presence of Cu(II) and alkaline conditions are two essential factors in arecaidine-induced DNA damage, a contributing factor to oral cancer occurrence.     

Assessment of DNA degradation induced by thermal and UV radiation processing: Implications for quantification of genetically modified organisms

DNA quality is an important parameter for the detection and quantification of genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Food processing leads to degradation of DNA, which may impair GMO detection and quantification. This study evaluated the effect of various processing treatments such as heating, baking, microwaving, autoclaving and ultraviolet (UV) irradiation on the relative transgenic content of MON 810 maize using pRSETMON-02, a dual target plasmid as a model system. Amongst all the processing treatments examined, autoclaving and UV irradiation resulted in the least recovery of the transgenic (CaMV 35S promoter) and taxon-specific (zein) target DNA sequences. Although a profound impact on DNA degradation was seen during the processing, DNA could still be reliably quantified by Real-time PCR. The measured mean DNA copy number ratios of the processed samples were in agreement with the expected values. Our study confirms the premise that the final analytical value assigned to a particular sample is independent of the degree of DNA degradation since the transgenic and the taxon-specific target sequences possessing approximately similar lengths degrade in parallel. The results of our study demonstrate that food processing does not alter the relative quantification of the transgenic content provided the quantitative assays target shorter amplicons and the difference in the amplicon size between the transgenic and taxon-specific genes is minimal.     

抗菌肽BCp12对大肠杆菌壁膜及DNA损伤的作用机制

基于活菌亲和吸附法筛选的乳源蛋白抗菌肽BCp12具有广谱的抗菌效果,但其抑菌机制尚不清楚。本研究利用紫外吸收光谱、流式细胞仪、傅里叶变换红外光谱、扫描电子显微镜及透射电子显微镜等技术探究抗菌肽BCp12对大肠杆菌壁膜的损伤作用,并通过凝胶阻滞和荧光光谱实验研究BCp12与菌体DNA的结合作用及方式。结果表明：质量浓度2 mg/mL的BCp12可引起大肠杆菌壁膜亲水性增加,菌体细胞吸附率下降至64.73%,对菌体壁膜脂肪酸、蛋白、多肽酰胺、多糖及指纹信息区都有明显影响,菌体细胞膜损伤显著（损伤率为25.1%）,且细胞内紫外吸收物质泄漏,菌体形态变得粗糙皱缩,细胞质内部结构遭到严重破坏并出现空化现象;BCp12能够与溴化乙锭相互竞争结合位点,并以嵌入方式结合DNA,产生凝胶阻滞现象,影响DNA的正常复制,进而抑制菌体的生长繁殖。本研究部分揭示了BCp12的抗菌机理。     

Role of OGG1 and NTG2 in the repair of oxidative DNA damage and mutagenesis induced by hydrogen peroxide in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: relationships with transition metals iron and copper

The base excision repair pathway of Saccharomyces cerevisiae possesses three DNA N-glycosylases, viz. Ogg1p, Ngt1p and Ntg2p, involved in the repair of oxidative DNA damage. It was previously reported that inactivation of any of these activities, in most cases, did not generate a sensitive mutant phenotype to a variety of oxidative agents. Only the ntg1 mutant appeared to be more sensitive to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) than a wild-type (WT) strain. In the present study we evaluated the role of S. cerevisiae OGG1 and NTG2 genes in the repair of oxidative lesions induced by high H2O2 concentrations (5-100 mM for 20 min), followed by catalase treatment (500 IU/ml). In these conditions, the ogg1 mutant was more sensitive than the WT strain to H2O2 (concentration 40-60 mM). Unexpectedly, the inactivation of NTG2 in an ogg1 background was able to suppress both sensitivity and mutagenesis induced by H2O2. Indeed, even the ntg2 single mutant was more resistant than the WT (60-100 mM H2O2). The use of metal ion chelators dipyridyl and neocuproine allowed us to evaluate the participation of iron and copper ions in the production of lethal and mutagenic lesions during H2O2 treatment in different DNA repair-deficient S. cerevisiae strains. The roles of OGG1 and NTG2 genes in the repair of lethal and mutagenic oxidative lesions induced by H2O2 and their relationships with iron and copper ions are discussed.