Repair of DNA damage is crucial to prevent accumulation of mutations that can cause human disease, such as cancer. Many proteins are important for DNA repair including Sgsl, a protein that when mutated in human cells leads to many devesting diseases (i.e. Bloom, Werner, Rothmund-Thomson syndromes), which are all fundamentally characterized by cancer predisposition. Sgsl genetically interacts with a group of proteins collectively called the SHU complex. Although Sgsl has been extensively analyzed, the molecular mechanism of how it functions to repair DNA damage and its relationship to the SHU complex has remained elusive, largely because its deletion leads to many pleiotropic phenotypes. During the K99 phase of this proposal, I will utilize a separation-of-function allele of Sgsl that delineates its role during DNA repair from DNA replication. My preliminary results suggest that an alternative pathway is used to repair DNA replication errors that is distinct from the homologous recombination machinery. The experiments proposed here will use genetic and cell biological approaches to characterize the proteins involved in this novel pathway and determine how utilization of this pathway is differentially regulated. The second part of the K99 phase will use flourescent microscopy to place the Sgs1/Top3/Rmi1 proteins in the order of protein assembly utilized during DNA repair and determine if the genetic requirements for Sgsl foci formation differ depending upon the type of DNA damage. During the ROO phase, I will focus on the SHU complex and first analyze the role of one SHU component, Shul, in rDNA repair and rDNA chromatin structure.
My second aim will elucidate the mechanistic role of the SHU complex during DNA repair and replication through its physical interaction with Srs2. Finally, I will determine if the SHU proteins have unique cellular functions despite forming a complex and address the significance of complex formation. The training that I receive during the K99 portion of the fellowship will enable me to develop the skills necessary to begin my own laboratory where my ultimate career goal is to be a tenured professor at a research institution.

Public Health Relevance

Repair of broken DNA is one of the most fundamental of cellular processes. When DNA repair is inhibited, cells can accumulate genetic mutations and rearrangements that are hallmarks of cancer. Functional analysis of proteins required for DNA repair is crucial for understanding the molecular basis of tumorigenesis.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Type
Research Transition Award (R00)
Project #
4R00GM088413-03
Application #
8267761
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (NSS)
Program Officer
Santangelo, George M
Project Start
2009-08-01
Project End
2014-06-30
Budget Start
2011-07-01
Budget End
2012-06-30
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2011
Total Cost
$248,999
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Pittsburgh
Department
Genetics
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
004514360
City
Pittsburgh
State
PA
Country
United States
Zip Code
15213
Böhm, Stefanie; Szakal, Barnabas; Herken, Benjamin W et al. (2016) The Budding Yeast Ubiquitin Protease Ubp7 Is a Novel Component Involved in S Phase Progression. J Biol Chem 291:4442-52
Gaines, William A; Godin, Stephen K; Kabbinavar, Faiz F et al. (2015) Promotion of presynaptic filament assembly by the ensemble of S. cerevisiae Rad51 paralogues with Rad52. Nat Commun 6:7834
Böhm, Stefanie; Mihalevic, Michael Joseph; Casal, Morgan Alexandra et al. (2015) Disruption of SUMO-targeted ubiquitin ligases Slx5-Slx8/RNF4 alters RecQ-like helicase Sgs1/BLM localization in yeast and human cells. DNA Repair (Amst) 26:1-14
Godin, Stephen K; Meslin, Camille; Kabbinavar, Faiz et al. (2015) Evolutionary and functional analysis of the invariant SWIM domain in the conserved Shu2/SWS1 protein family from Saccharomyces cerevisiae to Homo sapiens. Genetics 199:1023-33
Fu, Qiong; Chow, Julia; Bernstein, Kara A et al. (2014) Phosphorylation-regulated transitions in an oligomeric state control the activity of the Sae2 DNA repair enzyme. Mol Cell Biol 34:778-93
Böhm, Stefanie; Bernstein, Kara Anne (2014) The role of post-translational modifications in fine-tuning BLM helicase function during DNA repair. DNA Repair (Amst) 22:123-32
Bernstein, Kara A; Mimitou, Eleni P; Mihalevic, Michael J et al. (2013) Resection activity of the Sgs1 helicase alters the affinity of DNA ends for homologous recombination proteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Genetics 195:1241-51
Godin, Stephen; Wier, Adam; Kabbinavar, Faiz et al. (2013) The Shu complex interacts with Rad51 through the Rad51 paralogues Rad55-Rad57 to mediate error-free recombination. Nucleic Acids Res 41:4525-34
Bernstein, Kara A; Juanchich, Amélie; Sunjevaric, Ivana et al. (2013) The Shu complex regulates Rad52 localization during rDNA repair. DNA Repair (Amst) 12:786-90
Karpenshif, Yoav; Bernstein, Kara A (2012) From yeast to mammals: recent advances in genetic control of homologous recombination. DNA Repair (Amst) 11:781-8

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