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Ubiquitin-dependent DNA damage bypass is separable from genome replication

Nature volume 465, pages 951–955 (2010)Cite this article

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Abstract

Post-replication repair (PRR) is a pathway that allows cells to bypass or overcome lesions during DNA replication1. In eukaryotes, damage bypass is activated by ubiquitylation of the replication clamp PCNA through components of the RAD6 pathway2. Whereas monoubiquitylation of PCNA allows mutagenic translesion synthesis by damage-tolerant DNA polymerases3,4,5, polyubiquitylation is required for an error-free pathway that probably involves a template switch to the undamaged sister chromatid6. 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.

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Figure 1: Ubiquitin-dependent DNA damage bypass can be delayed until after genome replication.
Figure 2: PRR normally operates during S phase, but chromatin-bound PCNA can be ubiquitylated in G2/M.
Figure 3: Ultraviolet-induced lesions are bypassed predominantly by TLS.
Figure 4: Quantification and visualization of PRR tracts in G2/M-arrested cells.

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Acknowledgements

We thank O. Aparicio for plasmid p306-BrdU-Inc and the laboratory of V. Costanzo for advice on DNA fibre analysis. This work was funded by Cancer Research UK.

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Author notes

  1. Yasukazu Daigaku

    Present address: Present address: Genome Damage and Stability Centre, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9RQ, UK.,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cancer Research UK London Research Institute, Clare Hall Laboratories, Blanche Lane, South Mimms EN6 3LD, UK ,

    Yasukazu Daigaku, Adelina A. Davies & Helle D. Ulrich

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  1. Yasukazu Daigaku
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Contributions

Y.D. and A.A.D. performed the experiments; Y.D. and H.D.U. designed the study; H.D.U. wrote the manuscript. All authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Helle D. Ulrich.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Daigaku, Y., Davies, A. & Ulrich, H. Ubiquitin-dependent DNA damage bypass is separable from genome replication. Nature 465, 951–955 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09097

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