title: An apyrimidinic site kinks DNA and triggers incision by endonuclease VII of phage T4.
abstract: Apurinic/apyrimidinic lesions (AP-sites) occur frequently in DNA, generated by physically and chemically induced or spontaneous loss of bases. Repair mechanisms have evolved in organisms to deal efficiently with AP-sites by first incising the DNA at the lesion, followed by excision and resynthesis of the damaged strand. Here we report that endonuclease VII (endo VII) of phage T4, which was originally classified as a debranching and Holliday structure resolving enzyme, also recognizes AP-sites with high efficiency. The enzyme cleaves both strands of double-stranded DNA in a stepwise fashion a few nucleotides 3' of the lesion. In a search for a recognition signal shared by all known endo VII substrates, kinking of DNA has earlier been suggested as such a signal. In support of this hypothesis, we demonstrate here that AP-sites induce distinct kinks in synthetic oligonucleotides allowing efficient intramolecular ring closure by ligation.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Genetics of the University of Cologne, Zülpicher Strasse 47, 50674 Köln, Germany.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Greger
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kemper
mesh_terms: D017122:Bacteriophage T4 / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D019757:Carbon-Oxygen Lyases / Q000235:genetics*; D004249:DNA Damage / Q000235:genetics; D004260:DNA Repair; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D043603:DNA-(Apurinic or Apyrimidinic Site) Lyase; D043223:Deoxyribonuclease IV (Phage T4-Induced); D008969:Molecular Sequence Data
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D043223:Deoxyribonuclease IV (Phage T4-Induced); D019757:Carbon-Oxygen Lyases; D043603:DNA-(Apurinic or Apyrimidinic Site) Lyase