Homologous chromosomes move and rapidly initiate contact at the sites of double-strand breaks in genes in G₀-phase human cells

Active genetics comes alive: Exploring the broad applications of CRISPR-based selfish genetic elements (or gene-drives): Exploring the broad applications of CRISPR-based selfish genetic elements (or gene-drives)

Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)-based "active genetic" elements developed in 2015 bypassed the fundamental rules of traditional genetics. Inherited in a super-Mendelian fashion, such selfish genetic entities offered a variety of potential applications including: gene-drives to disseminate gene cassettes carrying desired traits throughout insect populations to control disease vectors or pest species, allelic drives biasing inheritance of preferred allelic variants, neutralizing genetic elements to delete and replace or to halt the spread of gene-drives, split-drives with the core constituent Cas9 endonuclease and guide RNA (gRNA) components inserted at separate genomic locations to accelerate assembly of complex arrays of genetic traits or to gain genetic entry into novel organisms (vertebrates, plants, bacteria), and interhomolog based copying systems in somatic cells to develop tools for treating inherited or infectious diseases. Here, we summarize the substantial advances that have been made on all of these fronts and look forward to the next phase of this rapidly expanding and impactful field.

Cas9/Nickase-induced allelic conversion by homologous chromosome-templated repair in Drosophila somatic cells

Repair of double-strand breaks (DSBs) in somatic cells is primarily accomplished by error-prone nonhomologous end joining and less frequently by precise homology-directed repair preferentially using the sister chromatid as a template. Here, a Drosophila system performs efficient somatic repair of both DSBs and single-strand breaks (SSBs) using intact sequences from the homologous chromosome in a process we refer to as homologous chromosome-templated repair (HTR). Unexpectedly, HTR-mediated allelic conversion at the white locus was more efficient (40 to 65%) in response to SSBs induced by Cas9-derived nickases D10A or H840A than to DSBs induced by fully active Cas9 (20 to 30%). Repair phenotypes elicited by Nickase versus Cas9 differ in both developmental timing (late versus early stages, respectively) and the production of undesired mutagenic events (rare versus frequent). Nickase-mediated HTR represents an efficient and unanticipated mechanism for allelic correction, with far-reaching potential applications in the field of gene editing.

CopyCatchers are versatile active genetic elements that detect and quantify inter-homolog somatic gene conversion

CRISPR-based active genetic elements, or gene-drives, copied via homology-directed repair (HDR) in the germline, are transmitted to progeny at super-Mendelian frequencies. Active genetic elements also can generate widespread somatic mutations, but the genetic basis for such phenotypes remains uncertain. It is generally assumed that such somatic mutations are generated by non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ), the predominant double stranded break repair pathway active in somatic cells. Here, we develop CopyCatcher systems in Drosophila to detect and quantify somatic gene conversion (SGC) events. CopyCatchers inserted into two independent genetic loci reveal unexpectedly high rates of SGC in the Drosophila eye and thoracic epidermis. Focused RNAi-based genetic screens identify several unanticipated loci altering SGC efficiency, one of which (c-MYC), when downregulated, promotes SGC mediated by both plasmid and homologous chromosome-templates in human HEK293T cells. Collectively, these studies suggest that CopyCatchers can serve as effective discovery platforms to inform potential gene therapy strategies.

Telomeres and Subtelomeres Dynamics in the Context of Early Chromosome Interactions During Meiosis and Their Implications in Plant Breeding

Genomic architecture facilitates chromosome recognition, pairing, and recombination. Telomeres and subtelomeres play an important role at the beginning of meiosis in specific chromosome recognition and pairing, which are critical processes that allow chromosome recombination between homologs (equivalent chromosomes in the same genome) in later stages. In plant polyploids, these terminal regions are even more important in terms of homologous chromosome recognition, due to the presence of homoeologs (equivalent chromosomes from related genomes). Although telomeres interaction seems to assist homologous pairing and consequently, the progression of meiosis, other chromosome regions, such as subtelomeres, need to be considered, because the DNA sequence of telomeres is not chromosome-specific. In addition, recombination operates at subtelomeres and, as it happens in rye and wheat, homologous recognition and pairing is more often correlated with recombining regions than with crossover-poor regions. In a plant breeding context, the knowledge of how homologous chromosomes initiate pairing at the beginning of meiosis can contribute to chromosome manipulation in hybrids or interspecific genetic crosses. Thus, recombination in interspecific chromosome associations could be promoted with the aim of transferring desirable agronomic traits from related genetic donor species into crops. In this review, we summarize the importance of telomeres and subtelomeres on chromatin dynamics during early meiosis stages and their implications in recombination in a plant breeding framework.

Nuclear myosin/actin-motored contact between homologous chromosomes is initiated by ATM kinase and homology-directed repair proteins at double-strand DNA breaks to suppress chromosome rearrangements

We provide evidence for a mechanism of DNA repair that requires nuclear myosin/actin-dependent contact between homologous chromosomes to prevent formation of chromosomal rearrangement in human cells. We recently showed that DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) induced by γ-rays or endonucleases cause ATM-dependent contact formation between homologous chromosomes at damaged sites of transcriptionally active chromatin in G₀/G₁-phase cells. Here, we report that the mechanism of contact generation between homologous chromosomes also requires homology-directed repair proteins, including BRCA1, RAD51 and RAD52, and nuclear myosin/actin-motors. Moreover, inhibition of ATM kinase or deficiency in nuclear actin polymerization causes carcinogenic RET/PTC chromosome rearrangements after DSBs induction in human cells. These data suggest that DSBs in transcriptionally active euchromatin in G₀/G₁-phase cells are repaired through a mechanism that requires contact formation between homologous chromosomes and that this mechanism is mediated by HDR proteins and nuclear myosin/actin motors.

Structural chromosome aberrations cause swelling of the nucleus

Background

Carcinogens are known to cause swelling of the mammalian cell nucleus. However, the mechanism of the swelling and its toxicological significance have not been fully elucidated. Since nuclear swelling (NS hereafter) has been frequently observed in chromosomal aberration (CA hereafter) tests (in vitro), the relationship between NS and CAs was investigated in this study.

Results

In a short-term CA test using the fibroblast CHL cell line, the appearance of NS increased in a dose-dependent manner after exposure to six types of clastogens (mitomycin C, methyl methane sulfonate, 1-methyl-3-nitro-1-nitrosoguanidine, benzo[a]pyrene, cyclophosphamide monohydrate, and 9,10-dimethyl-2-benzanthracene), and a strong correlation was found between NS (%) and CAs (%) at each dosage. Therefore, we hypothesized that clastogens cause NS in cultured mammalian cells, since the mouse lymphoma L5178Y cell line is known to have a similar sensitivity to clastogens. Thus, we measured NS for 14 compounds (clastogens) that are known to induce structural CAs, 4 aneugens, and 12 non-mutagenes. Almost all clastogens caused NS of more than 5 %, which increased in a dose-dependent manner. Among the aneugens, colchicine, and diethylstilbestrol caused the same level of NS % as the clastogens, while carbendazim and trichlorfon caused a similar level of NS % as the clastogens only at higher levels of cytotoxicity. Almost all the non-mutagens caused less than 5 % NS.

Conclusions

These results strongly suggest that NS is mainly caused by structural aberrations in the nucleus during interphase of the cell cycle.

Chromatin perturbations during the DNA damage response in higher eukaryotes

The DNA damage response is a widely used term that encompasses all signaling initiated at DNA lesions and damaged replication forks as it extends to orchestrate DNA repair, cell cycle checkpoints, cell death and senescence. ATM, an apical DNA damage signaling kinase, is virtually instantaneously activated following the introduction of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). The MRE11-RAD50-NBS1 (MRN) complex, which has a catalytic role in DNA repair, and the KAT5 (Tip60) acetyltransferase are required for maximal ATM kinase activation in cells exposed to low doses of ionizing radiation. The sensing of DNA lesions occurs within a highly complex and heterogeneous chromatin environment. Chromatin decondensation and histone eviction at DSBs may be permissive for KAT5 binding to H3K9me3 and H3K36me3, ATM kinase acetylation and activation. Furthermore, chromatin perturbation may be a prerequisite for most DNA repair. Nucleosome disassembly during DNA repair was first reported in the 1970s by Smerdon and colleagues when nucleosome rearrangement was noted during the process of nucleotide excision repair of UV-induced DNA damage in human cells. Recently, the multi-functional protein nucleolin was identified as the relevant histone chaperone required for partial nucleosome disruption at DBSs, the recruitment of repair enzymes and for DNA repair. Notably, ATM kinase is activated by chromatin perturbations induced by a variety of treatments that do not directly cause DSBs, including treatment with histone deacetylase inhibitors. Central to the mechanisms that activate ATR, the second apical DNA damage signaling kinase, outside of a stalled and collapsed replication fork in S-phase, is chromatin decondensation and histone eviction associated with DNA end resection at DSBs. Thus, a stress that is common to both ATM and ATR kinase activation is chromatin perturbations, and we argue that chromatin perturbations are both sufficient and required for induction of the DNA damage response.

DNA damage during the G0/G1 phase triggers RNA-templated, Cockayne syndrome B-dependent homologous recombination

Damage repair mechanisms at transcriptionally active sites during the G0/G1 phase are largely unknown. To elucidate these mechanisms, we introduced genome site-specific oxidative DNA damage and determined the role of transcription in repair factor assembly. We find that KU and NBS1 are recruited to damage sites independent of transcription. However, assembly of RPA1, RAD51C, RAD51, and RAD52 at such sites is strictly governed by active transcription and requires both wild-type Cockayne syndrome protein B (CSB) function and the presence of RNA in the G0/G1 phase. We show that the ATPase activity of CSB is indispensable for loading and binding of the recombination factors. CSB counters radiation-induced DNA damage in both cells and zebrafish models. Taken together, our results have uncovered a novel, RNA-based recombination mechanism by which CSB protects genome stability from strand breaks at transcriptionally active sites and may provide insight into the clinical manifestations of Cockayne syndrome.

Abnormal dosage of ultraconserved elements is highly disfavored in healthy cells but not cancer cells

Ultraconserved elements (UCEs) are strongly depleted from segmental duplications and copy number variations (CNVs) in the human genome, suggesting that deletion or duplication of a UCE can be deleterious to the mammalian cell. Here we address the process by which CNVs become depleted of UCEs. We begin by showing that depletion for UCEs characterizes the most recent large-scale human CNV datasets and then find that even newly formed de novo CNVs, which have passed through meiosis at most once, are significantly depleted for UCEs. In striking contrast, CNVs arising specifically in cancer cells are, as a rule, not depleted for UCEs and can even become significantly enriched. This observation raises the possibility that CNVs that arise somatically and are relatively newly formed are less likely to have established a CNV profile that is depleted for UCEs. Alternatively, lack of depletion for UCEs from cancer CNVs may reflect the diseased state. In support of this latter explanation, somatic CNVs that are not associated with disease are depleted for UCEs. Finally, we show that it is possible to observe the CNVs of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells become depleted of UCEs over time, suggesting that depletion may be established through selection against UCE-disrupting CNVs without the requirement for meiotic divisions.

MicroRNAs down-regulate homologous recombination in the G1 phase of cycling cells to maintain genomic stability

Homologous recombination (HR)-mediated repair of DNA double-strand break (DSB)s is restricted to the post-replicative phases of the cell cycle. Initiation of HR in the G1 phase blocks non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) impairing DSB repair. Completion of HR in G1 cells can lead to the loss-of-heterozygosity (LOH), which is potentially carcinogenic. We conducted a gain-of-function screen to identify miRNAs that regulate HR-mediated DSB repair, and of these miRNAs, miR-1255b, miR-148b*, and miR-193b* specifically suppress the HR-pathway in the G1 phase. These miRNAs target the transcripts of HR factors, BRCA1, BRCA2, and RAD51, and inhibiting miR-1255b, miR-148b*, and miR-193b* increases expression of BRCA1/BRCA2/RAD51 specifically in the G1-phase leading to impaired DSB repair. Depletion of CtIP, a BRCA1-associated DNA end resection protein, rescues this phenotype. Furthermore, deletion of miR-1255b, miR-148b*, and miR-193b* in independent cohorts of ovarian tumors correlates with significant increase in LOH events/chromosomal aberrations and BRCA1 expression.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.02445.001.

Neurodegeneration-associated instability of ribosomal DNA

Homologous recombination (HR)-mediated instability of the repetitively organized ribosomal DNA (rDNA) has been proposed as a mediator of cell senescence in yeast triggering the DNA damage response. High individual variability in the content of human rDNA suggests that this genomic region remained relatively unstable throughout evolution. Therefore, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to determine the genomic content of rDNA in post mortem samples of parietal cortex from 14 young and 9 elderly individuals with no diagnosis of a chronic neurodegenerative/neurological disease. In addition, rDNA content in that brain region was compared between 10 age-matched control individuals and 10 patients with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) which involves neurodegeneration of the cerebral cortex. Probing rRNA-coding regions of rDNA revealed no effects of aging on the rDNA content. Elevated rDNA content was observed in DLB. Conversely, in the DLB pathology-free cerebellum, lower genomic content of rDNA was present in the DLB group. In the parietal cortex, such a DLB-associated instability of rDNA was not accompanied by any major changes of cytosine-phosphate-guanine methylation of the rDNA promoter. As increased cerebro-cortical rDNA content was previously reported in Alzheimer's disease, neurodegeneration appears to be associated with instability of rDNA. The hypothetical origins and consequences of this phenomenon are discussed including possibilities that the DNA damage-induced recombination destabilizes rDNA and that differential content of rDNA affects heterochromatin formation, gene expression and/or DNA damage response. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Role of the Nucleolus in Human Disease.

The efficiency of homologous recombination and non-homologous end joining systems in repairing double-strand breaks during cell cycle progression

This study investigated the efficiency of Non-Homologous End Joining (NHEJ) and Homologous Recombination (HR) repair systems in rejoining DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) induced in CCD-34Lu cells by different γ-ray doses. The kinetics of DNA repair was assessed by analyzing the fluorescence decrease of γ-H2AX foci measured by SOID (Sum Of Integrated Density) parameter and counting foci number in the time-interval 0.5–24 hours after irradiation. Comparison of the two methods showed that the SOID parameter was useful in determining the amount and the persistence of DNA damage signal after exposure to high or low doses of ionizing radiation. The efficiency of DSB rejoining during the cell cycle was assessed by distinguishing G1, S, and G2 phase cells on the basis of nuclear fluorescence of the CENP-F protein. Six hours after irradiation, γ-H2AX foci resolution was higher in G2 compared to G1 cells in which both NHEJ and HR can cooperate. The rejoining of γ-H2AX foci in G2 phase cells was, moreover, decreased by RI-1, the chemical inhibitor of HR, demonstrating that homologous recombination is at work early after irradiation. The relevance of HR in DSB repair was assessed in DNA-PK-deficient M059J cells and in CCD-34Lu treated with the DNA-PKcs inhibitor, NU7026. In both conditions, the kinetics of γ-H2AX demonstrated that DSBs repair was markedly affected when NHEJ was absent or impaired, even in G2 phase cells in which HR should be at work. The recruitment of RAD51 at DSB sites was, moreover, delayed in M059J and in NU7026 treated-CCD-34Lu, with respect to DNA-PKcs proficient cells and continued for 24 hours despite the decrease in DNA repair. The impairment of NHEJ affected the efficiency of the HR system and significantly decreased cell survival after ionizing radiation, confirming that DSB rejoining is strictly dependent on the integrity of the NHEJ repair system.