High-resolution structure of the presynaptic RAD51 filament on single-stranded DNA by electron cryo-microscopy.
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Authors
Short, Judith M
Liu, Yang
Chen, Shaoxia
Soni, Neelesh
Madhusudhan, Mallur S
Shivji, Mahmud KK
Venkitaraman, Ashok
Publication Date
2016-11-02Journal Title
Nucleic Acids Research
ISSN
0305-1048
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Volume
44
Issue
19
Pages
9017-9030
Language
English
Type
Article
This Version
VoR
Metadata
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Short, J. M., Liu, Y., Chen, S., Soni, N., Madhusudhan, M. S., Shivji, M. K., & Venkitaraman, A. (2016). High-resolution structure of the presynaptic RAD51 filament on single-stranded DNA by electron cryo-microscopy.. Nucleic Acids Research, 44 (19), 9017-9030. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkw783
Abstract
Homologous DNA recombination (HR) by the RAD51 recombinase enables error-free DNA break repair. To execute HR, RAD51 first forms a presynaptic filament on single-stranded (ss) DNA, which catalyses pairing with homologous double-stranded (ds) DNA. Here, we report a structure for the presynaptic human RAD51 filament at 3.5-5.0Å resolution using electron cryo-microscopy. RAD51 encases ssDNA in a helical filament of 103Å pitch, comprising 6.4 protomers per turn, with a rise of 16.1Å and a twist of 56.2°. Inter-protomer distance correlates with rotation of an α-helical region in the core catalytic domain that is juxtaposed to ssDNA, suggesting how the RAD51-DNA interaction modulates protomer spacing and filament pitch. We map Fanconi anaemia-like disease-associated RAD51 mutations, clarifying potential phenotypes. We predict binding sites on the presynaptic filament for two modules present in each BRC repeat of the BRCA2 tumour suppressor, a critical HR mediator. Structural modelling suggests that changes in filament pitch mask or expose one binding site with filament-inhibitory potential, rationalizing the paradoxical ability of the BRC repeats to either stabilize or inhibit filament formation at different steps during HR. Collectively, our findings provide fresh insight into the structural mechanism of HR and its dysregulation in human disease.
Keywords
Adenosine Diphosphate, BRCA2 Protein, Binding Sites, Cryoelectron Microscopy, DNA, Single-Stranded, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Homologous Recombination, Humans, Models, Molecular, Molecular Conformation, Mutation, Protein Binding, Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs, Protein Subunits, Rad51 Recombinase, Rec A Recombinases, Repetitive Sequences, Amino Acid
Sponsorship
Medical Research Council [‘MC_UU_12022/1’, ‘MC_UU_12022/8’ to A.R.V.]; Wellcome Trust-DBT India Alliance Senior Fellowship (to M.S.M.). Funding for open access charge: Medical Research Council.
Funder references
Medical Research Council (MC_UU_12022/1)
MRC (MC_UU_12022/8)
MRC (MC_UU_12022/8)
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkw783
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/260880
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