title: A DNA repair gene of Caenorhabditis elegans: a homolog of human XPF.
abstract: The xeroderma pigmentosum complementation group F (XPF) protein is a structure-specific endonuclease in a complex with ERCC1 and is essential for nucleotide excision repair (NER). We report a single cDNA of Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) encoding highly similar protein to human XPF and other XPF members. We propose to name the corresponding C. elegans gene xpf. Messenger RNA for C. elegans xpf is 5'-tagged with a SL2 splice leader, suggesting an operon-like expression for xpf. Using RNAi, we showed that loss of C. elegans xpf function caused hypersensitivity to ultra-violet (UV) irradiation, as observed in enhanced germ cell apoptosis and increased embryonic lethality. This study suggests that C. elegans xpf is conserved in evolution and plays a role in the repair of UV-damaged DNA in C. elegans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Genetic Engineering, University of Ulsan, Ulsan 680-749, South Korea.
authors.forename: Hye Kyung
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Dongchul
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Suh
authors.forename: Moonjung
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hyun
authors.forename: Hyeon-Sook
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Koo
authors.forename: Byungchan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ahn
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D005075:Biological Evolution; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D004249:DNA Damage / Q000528:radiation effects; D004260:DNA Repair; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D020964:Embryo Loss; D005260:Female; D005804:Genes, Lethal; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D034622:RNA Interference; D012326:RNA Splicing; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C095888:xeroderma pigmentosum group F protein