Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Honglue Shi, Isaac J. Kimsey, Stephanie Gu, Hsuan-Fu Liu, Uyen Pham, Maria A. Schumacher, Hashim M. Al-Hashimi
Summary: This study identified a type of base pairs called 'Hoogsteen' in DNA, which may have a broad role in stressed regions of the genome, calling for a community-wide effort to identify these base pairs in current and future crystal structures of DNA and its complexes.
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nina J. Bonde, Zachary J. Romero, Sindhu Chitteni-Pattu, Michael M. Cox
Summary: In rapidly growing cells, the pace of RecA-mediated DNA strand exchange may be too slow for bacterial DNA metabolism. However, the RadD protein, a putative SF2 family helicase, can greatly accelerate RecA-mediated DNA strand exchange, functioning only in the presence of RecA protein. This reaction requires the RadD ATPase activity, does not require an interaction with SSB, and may disassemble RecA filaments.
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Liu He, Rebecca Lever, Andrew Cubbon, Muhammad Tehseen, Tabitha Jenkins, Alice O. Nottingham, Anya Horton, Hannah Betts, Martin Fisher, Samir M. Hamdan, Panos Soultanas, Edward L. Bolt
Summary: DNA strand breaks are repaired by DNA synthesis using a homologous DNA template. The DNA polymerase delta (Pol delta) catalyzes this DNA synthesis but can cause genome instability. However, the human protein HelQ inhibits DNA synthesis by Pol delta and promotes DNA strand annealing during repair. This mechanism involves the interaction between Pol delta and its POLD3 subunit with the intrinsically disordered region of HelQ.
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Bassam Abu-Libdeh, Satpal S. Jhujh, Srijita Dhar, Joshua A. Sommers, Arindam Datta, Gabriel M. C. Longo, Laura J. Grange, John J. Reynolds, Sophie L. Cooke, Gavin S. McNee, Robert Hollingworth, Beth L. Woodward, Anil N. Ganesh, Stephen J. Smerdon, Claudia M. Nicolae, Karina Durlacher-Betzer, Vered Molho-Pessach, Abdulsalam Abu-Libdeh, Vardiella Meiner, George-Lucian Moldovan, Vassilis Roukos, Tamar Harel, Robert M. Brosh, Grant S. Stewart
Summary: This study identified a genetic instability disorder named RECON syndrome, caused by mutations in the RECQL gene. The affected individuals exhibited multiple symptoms, such as short stature and progeroid facial features. This research expands the association of the RecQ helicase family with human genomic stability disorders.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL INVESTIGATION
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Allison M. Murawski, Mark P. Brynildsen
Summary: Genetic mutants have demonstrated the importance of homologous recombination (HR) to fluoroquinolone (FQ) persistence, suggesting that different types of persister subtypes exist, with some proficient in HR. Furthermore, time-lapse microscopy revealed distinct growth dynamics during the post-antibiotic recovery period for persisters from monoploid-enriched and diploid-enriched subpopulations.
Article
Biology
Deepak Bhat, Samuel Hauf, Charles Plessy, Yohei Yokobayashi, Simone Pigolotti, Armita Nourmohammad
Summary: In this study, a new method was proposed to infer the dynamics of Replisomes from DNA abundance distribution. The method was applied to measure the DNA abundance distribution in Escherichia coli populations growing at different temperatures. The results showed that the speed of Replisomes increases with temperature and exhibits wave-like variations along the genome, which correlates with the variation of mutation rate. This study provides insights into the replication dynamics of bacteria.
Article
Cell Biology
Camelia Mocanu, Eleftheria Karanika, Maria Fernandez-Casanas, Alex Herbert, Tomisin Olukoga, Mete Emir Ozgurses, Kok-Lung Chan
Summary: Mitotic DNA synthesis (MiDAS) refers to the restart of DNA synthesis during mitosis. Research has found that cells exposed to mild replication stress continue DNA replication throughout G2 and the transition period. Persistent DNA synthesis plays a crucial role in resolving replication issues in G2 and overcoming obstacles to mitotic entry.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Karel Naiman, Eduard Campillo-Funollet, Adam T. Watson, Alice Budden, Izumi Miyabe, Antony M. Carr
Summary: Replication forks restarted by homologous recombination utilize Pol delta to synthesize both strands without maturing to a delta/epsilon configuration, while the template for the lagging strand remains as a gap filled in by Pol delta later. These restarted forks are able to progress through barriers that arrest canonical forks, demonstrating stability of the 3' single strand during increased resection.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Hematology
Yusuke Okamoto, Masako Abe, Anfeng Mu, Yasuko Tempaku, Colette B. Rogers, Ayako L. Mochizuki, Yoko Katsuki, Masato T. Kanemaki, Akifumi Takaori-Kondo, Alexandra Sobeck, Anja-Katrin Bielinsky, Minoru Takata
Summary: Fanconi anemia (FA) is a hereditary disorder caused by mutations in any 1 of 22 FA genes. Recent studies have shown that the DNA/RNA helicase SLFN11 plays a role in cell death sensitivity to chemotherapeutic treatments in cancer cells. The depletion of SLFN11 has been shown to improve cell survival in FA patient-derived cells, suggesting a potential link between SLFN11 and FA pathophysiology.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Umberto Aiello, Drice Challal, Griselda Wentzinger, Armelle Lengronne, Rowin Appanah, Philippe Pasero, Benoit Palancade, Domenico Libri
Summary: Cellular homeostasis requires the coordination of several machineries, including the Sen1 helicase which terminates non-coding transcription. This study shows that Sen1 plays a key regulatory role in resolving transcription conflicts and R-loops, thus maintaining genome stability.
Review
Microbiology
Roberto C. Molina-Quiroz, Cecilia A. Silva-Valenzuela
Summary: Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria and have been used as a model system in microbial genetics and molecular biology. Understanding the arms race between bacteria and phages is important for the design of phage-based therapies for bacterial infections. Vibrio species and their phages provide a suitable model to study these interactions in aquatic environments.
CURRENT OPINION IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Leonie Hacker, Annika Dorn, Janina Enderle, Holger Puchta
Summary: The research reveals that Arabidopsis thaliana has two main repair pathways for TOP2cc, mediated by TDP2 and WSS1A, while MUS81 plays a major role in global DPC repair. Additionally, TDP1 and TDP2 function in TOP1cc repair, preventing erroneous pathways.
Article
Cell Biology
Sheetal Sharma, Roopesh Anand, Xuzhu Zhang, Sofia Francia, Flavia Michelini, Alessandro Galbiati, Hannah Williams, Daryl A. Ronato, Jean-Yves Masson, Eli Rothenberg, Petr Cejka, Fabrizio d'Adda di Fagagna
Summary: The MRN complex promotes transcription by RNAPII at DSBs by melting DNA ends, independent of its nuclease activities. RPA enhances MRN-mediated transcription, and unpaired DNA ends also allow transcription by RNAPII.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sharik R. Khan, Andrei Kuzminov
Summary: This study reveals that chromosomal fragmentation, a direct consequence of T-starvation, is either dispensable or redundant for the overall TLD pathology. Replication forks may provide a minor contribution to TLD, but only in the repair-deficient thyA deoCABD recBCD mutant.
MOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Christopher Campion, Godefroid Charbon, Thomas T. Thomsen, Peter E. Nielsen, Anders Lobner-Olesen
Summary: The study showed that NrdA-PNA specifically inhibited the growth of E. coli and NrdA protein translation, as well as reducing DNA synthesis rate, leading to incomplete chromosomal replication, double-stranded DNA breaks, and cell death. The results suggest that targeting the NrdAB RNR subunits with antisense PNAs could be a promising approach for developing microbial agents, while also providing insights into bacterial responses to RNR-targeting antimicrobials.
JOURNAL OF ANTIMICROBIAL CHEMOTHERAPY
(2021)