Double-stranded DNA breaks (DSBs) are the primary genotoxic lesion of ionizing radiation (IR). DSB induction appears to determine the efficacy of IR and other DNA metabolism-based anti-tumor drugs as cancer therapeutic agents. Homologous recombination (HR) is an important DSB repair pathway and essential for cellular radiation resistance and genome stability. HR defects lead to genomic instability, a hallmark in the etiology of cancer. The long-term goal is to elucidate the mechanisms of HR. We focus on the postsynaptic steps of DNA synthesis that determine fidelity of recombinational DNA repair.
The Specific Aims are: (1) Determine the mechanisms of recombination-associated DNA synthesis. Yeast is an ideal model system to unravel the complexity of DNA synthesis during HR. Distinct DNA synthesis steps are invoked in recombination models, and at least four different DNA polymerases have already been implicated. We will delineate the precise role of DNA Pol? in HR using biochemical and molecular approaches (Subaim 1A). We have identified a novel role of Pol 4 in homology-directed repair and will define its specific function by a combination of biochemical and genetic approaches (Subaim 1C). The experiments will also address the key question whether TLS polymerases are directly involved in recombination-associated DNA synthesis. In Subaims 1B and D, we will validate the general significance of our findings using the well conserved human proteins. (2) Identify mechanisms for regulating recombination-associated DNA synthesis. Multiple lines of genetic evidence from several model systems suggest that recombination-associated DNA synthesis is regulated but the mechanisms involved are unknown. We have identified a novel role of the Sgs1-Top3-Rmi1 (human BLM- TOPO3?-RMI1/2) to specifically dissolve yeast Rad51-mediated D-loops. Contrary to expectation this function is independent of Sgs1 helicase activity. We will define this novel mechanism in Subaim 2A and determine whether it cooperates with mismatch repair to proofread recombination and reject strand invasions with mismatches in Subaim 2B. The novel paradigms will be validated in Subaim 2C with the corresponding and highly conserved human proteins.

Public Health Relevance

Homologous recombination is a key DNA repair pathway for DNA double-stranded breaks and other types of complex DNA damage. DNA double-stranded breaks are the critical lesion induced by ionizing radiation and other modalities in cancer treatment. The work in this proposal will lead to an improved mechanistic understanding of recombinational DNA repair, which is fundamental in using biological approaches to improve the efficacy and reduce the side-effects of DNA damage-based anti-tumor therapy.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
2R01GM058015-13A1
Application #
8758698
Study Section
Radiation Therapeutics and Biology Study Section (RTB)
Program Officer
Janes, Daniel E
Project Start
2000-01-01
Project End
2018-06-30
Budget Start
2014-07-01
Budget End
2015-06-30
Support Year
13
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California Davis
Department
Microbiology/Immun/Virology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
City
Davis
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
95618
Wright, William Douglass; Shah, Shanaya Shital; Heyer, Wolf-Dietrich (2018) Homologous recombination and the repair of DNA double-strand breaks. J Biol Chem 293:10524-10535
Piazza, Aurèle; Heyer, Wolf-Dietrich (2018) Multi-Invasion-Induced Rearrangements as a Pathway for Physiological and Pathological Recombination. Bioessays 40:e1700249
Piazza, Aurèle; Koszul, Romain; Heyer, Wolf-Dietrich (2018) A Proximity Ligation-Based Method for Quantitative Measurement of D-Loop Extension in S. cerevisiae. Methods Enzymol 601:27-44
Liu, Jie; Ede, Christopher; Wright, William D et al. (2017) Srs2 promotes synthesis-dependent strand annealing by disrupting DNA polymerase ?-extending D-loops. Elife 6:
Muñoz-Galván, Sandra; Tous, Cristina; Blanco, Miguel G et al. (2017) Correction for Muñoz-Galván et al., ""Distinct Roles of Mus81, Yen1, Slx1-Slx4, and Rad1 Nucleases in the Repair of Replication-Born Double-Strand Breaks by Sister Chromatid Exchange"". Mol Cell Biol 37:
Piazza, Aurèle; Wright, William Douglass; Heyer, Wolf-Dietrich (2017) Multi-invasions Are Recombination Byproducts that Induce Chromosomal Rearrangements. Cell 170:760-773.e15
Crawley, Jacqueline N; Heyer, Wolf-Dietrich; LaSalle, Janine M (2016) Autism and Cancer Share Risk Genes, Pathways, and Drug Targets. Trends Genet 32:139-146
Spies, Julian; Waizenegger, Anja; Barton, Olivia et al. (2016) Nek1 Regulates Rad54 to Orchestrate Homologous Recombination and Replication Fork Stability. Mol Cell 62:903-917
McVey, Mitch; Khodaverdian, Varandt Y; Meyer, Damon et al. (2016) Eukaryotic DNA Polymerases in Homologous Recombination. Annu Rev Genet 50:393-421
Ganai, Rais A; Zhang, Xiao-Ping; Heyer, Wolf-Dietrich et al. (2016) Strand displacement synthesis by yeast DNA polymerase ?. Nucleic Acids Res 44:8229-40

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