title: Inverse transposition by the RAG1 and RAG2 proteins: role reversal of donor and target DNA.
abstract: The lymphoid-specific proteins RAG1 and RAG2 initiate V(D)J recombination by introducing DNA double-strand breaks at the recombination signal sequences (RSSs). In addition to DNA cleavage, the versatile RAG1/2 complex is capable of catalyzing several other reactions, including hybrid joint formation and the transposition of signal ends into a second DNA. Here we show that the RAG1/2 complex also mediates an unusual strand transfer reaction, inverse transposition, in which non-RSS DNA is cleaved and subsequently transferred to an RSS sequence by direct transesterification. Characterization of the reaction products and requirements suggests that inverse transposition is related to both hybrid joint formation and signal-end transposition. This aberrant activity provides another possible mechanism for some chromosomal translocations present in lymphoid tumors.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Building 5, Room 241, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
authors.forename: I-hung
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Shih
authors.forename: Meni
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Melek
authors.forename: Nadeesha D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Jayaratne
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gellert
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D015321:Gene Rearrangement / Q000502:physiology*; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; C499308:Rag2 protein, mouse; C064655:V(D)J recombination activating protein 2; C064658:RAG-1 protein; D004247:DNA