Homologous recombination is a pathway that cells use to repair double-stranded DMAbreaks (DSBs). Failure to repair DSBs results in gross chromosomal rearrangements, a hallmark of tumorogenesis, and several diseases, including many types of cancer, can result if this essential repair pathway is not working properly. The research goals presented here focus on understanding some early steps in the homologous recombination pathway. Particular emphasis will be placed on characterizing the reaction catalyzed by the human protein Rad51 and examining how this protein aligns homologous DMAmolecules. To facilitate this analysis we are developing unique systems for studying the real-time dynamics of DMA recombination at the level of single biochemical reactions using using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM). The hypothesis behind the proposed research is that Rad51 aligns DMAsequences using a mechanism called intersegmental transfer.
The specific aims are to: 1) Determine the mechanism by which the Rad51 and RecA proteins align DNA sequences. 2) Determine the temporal relationship between sequence alignment and other steps in the recombination reaction. 3) Determine how the DNA alignment process is affected in the context of chromatin.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01GM074739-05
Application #
7792361
Study Section
Molecular Genetics A Study Section (MGA)
Program Officer
Hagan, Ann A
Project Start
2006-04-01
Project End
2012-03-31
Budget Start
2010-04-01
Budget End
2012-03-31
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2010
Total Cost
$227,057
Indirect Cost
Name
Columbia University (N.Y.)
Department
Biochemistry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
621889815
City
New York
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
10032
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Greene, Eric C (2016) On the influence of protein-DNA register during homologous recombination. Cell Cycle 15:172-5
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Qi, Zhi; Redding, Sy; Lee, Ja Yil et al. (2015) DNA sequence alignment by microhomology sampling during homologous recombination. Cell 160:856-869
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Deng, Sarah K; Gibb, Bryan; de Almeida, Mariana Justino et al. (2014) RPA antagonizes microhomology-mediated repair of DNA double-strand breaks. Nat Struct Mol Biol 21:405-12
Sternberg, Samuel H; Redding, Sy; Jinek, Martin et al. (2014) DNA interrogation by the CRISPR RNA-guided endonuclease Cas9. Nature 507:62-7

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