title: Tailed duplex DNA is the preferred substrate for Rad51 protein-mediated homologous pairing.
abstract: The repair of potentially lethal DNA double-stranded breaks (DSBs) by homologous recombination requires processing of the broken DNA into a resected DNA duplex with a protruding 3'-single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) tail. Accordingly, the canonical models for DSB repair require invasion of an intact homologous DNA template by the 3'-end of the ssDNA, a characteristic that the bacterial pairing protein RecA possesses. Unexpectedly, we find that for the eukaryotic homolog, Rad51 protein, the 5'-end of ssDNA is more invasive than the 3'-end. This pairing bias is unaffected by Rad52, Rad54 or Rad55-57 proteins. However, further investigation reveals that, in contrast to RecA protein, the preferred DNA substrate for Rad51 protein is not ssDNA but rather dsDNA with ssDNA tails. This important distinction permits the Rad51 proteins to promote DNA strand invasion using either 3'- or 5'-ends with similar efficiency.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biological Sciences, Sections of Microbiology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616-8665, USA.
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Mazin
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zaitseva
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sung
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Kowalczykowski
mesh_terms: D020029:Base Pairing; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics*; D004260:DNA Repair; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D004926:Escherichia coli; D006801:Humans; D051135:Rad51 Recombinase; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D004247:DNA; C495151:RAD51 protein, S cerevisiae; C495153:RAD51 protein, human; D051135:Rad51 Recombinase