The Rad5 Helicase and RING Domains Contribute to Genome Stability through their Independent Catalytic Activities (original) (raw)

Concerted and differential actions of two enzymatic domains underlie Rad5 contributions to DNA damage tolerance

Nucleic acids research, 2015

Many genome maintenance factors have multiple enzymatic activities. In most cases, how their distinct activities functionally relate with each other is unclear. Here we examined the conserved budding yeast Rad5 protein that has both ubiquitin ligase and DNA helicase activities. The Rad5 ubiquitin ligase activity mediates PCNA poly-ubiquitination and subsequently recombination-based DNA lesion tolerance. Interestingly, the ligase domain is embedded in a larger helicase domain comprising seven consensus motifs. How features of the helicase domain influence ligase function is controversial. To clarify this issue, we use genetic, 2D gel and biochemical analyses and show that a Rad5 helicase motif important for ATP binding is also required for PCNA poly-ubiquitination and recombination-based lesion tolerance. We determine that this requirement is due to a previously unrecognized contribution of the motif to the PCNA and ubiquitination enzyme interaction, and not due to its canonical role...

Yeast Rad5 Protein Required for Postreplication Repair Has a DNA Helicase Activity Specific for Replication Fork Regression

Molecular Cell, 2007

Lesions in the template DNA strand block the progression of the replication fork. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, replication through DNA lesions is mediated by different Rad6-Rad18-dependent means, which include translesion synthesis and a Rad5-dependent postreplicational repair pathway that repairs the discontinuities that form in the DNA synthesized from damaged templates. Although translesion synthesis is well characterized, little is known about the mechanisms that modulate Rad5-dependent postreplicational repair. Here we show that yeast Rad5 has a DNA helicase activity that is specialized for replication fork regression. On model replication fork structures, Rad5 concertedly unwinds and anneals the nascent and the parental strands without exposing extended single-stranded regions. These observations provide insight into the mechanism of postreplicational repair in which Rad5 action promotes template switching for error-free damage bypass.

Specific complex formation between yeast RAD6 and RAD18 proteins: a potential mechanism for targeting RAD6 ubiquitin-conjugating activity to DNA damage sites

Genes & Development, 1994

The RAD6 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae encodes a ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme that is required for postreplication repair of UV-damaged DNA, DNA damage induced mutagenesis, sporulation, and amino-end rule protein degradation. RAD6 interacts physically with the UBR1 gene product in carrying out the multiubiquitination of amino-end rule proteolytic substrates. In mediating postreplication repair, it has remained unclear whether RAD6 acts in a pleiotropic manner distal from the site of DNA damage or is targeted to the damage site via interaction with another repair component. Here, we show that RAD6 forms a specific complex with the product of the DNA repair gene RAD18. The biological significance of this interaction is attested by the observation that overproduction of the rad6 Ala-88 mutant protein, which lacks ubiquitin-conjugating activity but retains the ability to interact with RAD18 protein, confers a high level of UV sensitivity on wild-type PAD + cells that can be corrected by the concomitant overexpression of RAD18. We demonstrate that whereas RAD6 has no affinity for DNA, RAD18 binds single-stranded DNA. Thus, association of RAD6 with RAD18 could provide a means for targeting RAD6 to damage-containing DNA regions, where the RAD6 ubiquitin-conjugating function could modulate the activity of a stalled DNA replication machinery. We also show that RAD6 forms separate complexes with RAD18 and with UBR1, and the extremely conserved amino terminus of RAD6 that is required for complex formation with UBR1 is dispensable for complex formation with RAD18.

Ubiquitin-dependent DNA damage bypass is separable from genome replication

Nature, 2010

Post-replication repair (PRR) is a pathway that allows cells to bypass or overcome lesions during DNA replication 1 . In eukaryotes, damage bypass is activated by ubiquitylation of the replication clamp PCNA through components of the RAD6 pathway 2 . Whereas monoubiquitylation of PCNA allows mutagenic translesion synthesis by damagetolerant DNA polymerases 3-5 , polyubiquitylation is required for an error-free pathway that probably involves a template switch to the undamaged sister chromatid 6 . Both the timing of PRR events during the cell cycle and their location relative to replication forks, as well as the factors required downstream of PCNA ubiquitylation, have remained poorly characterized. Here we demonstrate that the RAD6 pathway normally operates during S phase. However, using an inducible system of DNA damage bypass in budding yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), we show that the process is separable in time and space from genome replication, thus allowing direct visualization and quantification of productive PRR tracts. We found that both during and after S phase ultraviolet-radiation-induced lesions are bypassed predominantly via translesion synthesis, whereas the error-free pathway functions as a backup system. Our approach has revealed the distribution of PRR tracts in a synchronized cell population. It will allow an in-depth mechanistic analysis of how cells manage the processing of lesions to their genomes during and after replication.

Essential domains of Schizosaccharomyces pombe Rad8 required for DNA damage response

G3 (Bethesda, Md.), 2014

Schizosaccharomyces pombe Rad8 is a conserved protein homologous to S. cerevisiae Rad5 and human HLTF that is required for error-free postreplication repair by contributing to polyubiquitylation of PCNA. It has three conserved domains: an E3 ubiquitin ligase motif, a SNF2-family helicase domain, and a family-specific HIRAN domain. Data from humans and budding yeast suggest that helicase activity contributes to replication fork regression and template switching for fork restart. We constructed specific mutations in the three conserved domains and found that both the E3 ligase and HIRAN domains are required for proper response to DNA damage caused by a variety of agents. In contrast, mutations in the helicase domain show no phenotypes in a wild-type background. To determine whether Rad8 functionally overlaps with other helicases, we compared the phenotypes of single and double mutants with a panel of 23 nonessential helicase mutants, which we categorized into five phenotypic groups. S...

Insights into the interactions between replication protein A and the ubiquitin ligase Rad18 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae

2008

DNA damage may lead to mutations and loss of genome integrity. Lesions encountered during replication cause the replication machinery to stall and, unless repaired or bypased, can result in lethality of the cell. The DNA polymerase processivity clamp, PCNA (proliferating cell nuclear antigen), mediates either mutagenic damage bypass or error-fee damage avoidance through its post-translational modification states. Mono-ubiquitylated PCNA stimulates the activity of translesion DNA polymerases, while poly-ubiquitylation of PCNA is a pre-requisite for error-free damage avoidance by a yet unknown mechanism. Recent findings in the laboratory suggested that Replication Protein A (RPA), an essential single-stranded (ss) DNA-binding protein, is required for induction of PCNA ubiquitylation upon DNA damage. Consequently, the aim of my thesis was to gain further insight into the mechanism by which RPA is involved in the up-stream signals that activate PCNA modification. The Rad18 protein from ...

Activation of Ubiquitin-Dependent DNA Damage Bypass Is Mediated by Replication Protein A

Molecular Cell, 2008

Replicative DNA damage bypass, mediated by the ubiquitylation of the sliding clamp protein PCNA, facilitates the survival of a cell in the presence of genotoxic agents, but it can also promote genomic instability by damage-induced mutagenesis. We show here that PCNA ubiquitylation in budding yeast is activated independently of the replication-dependent S phase checkpoint but by similar conditions involving the accumulation of single-stranded DNA at stalled replication intermediates. The ssDNA-binding replication protein A (RPA), an essential complex involved in most DNA transactions, is required for damage-induced PCNA ubiquitylation. We found that RPA directly interacts with the ubiquitin ligase responsible for the modification of PCNA, Rad18, both in yeast and in mammalian cells. Association of the ligase with chromatin is detected where RPA is most abundant, and purified RPA can recruit Rad18 to ssDNA in vitro. Our results therefore implicate the RPA complex in the activation of DNA damage tolerance.