title: DNA damage detection by an archaeal single-stranded DNA-binding protein.
abstract: Archaeal DNA repair pathways are not well defined; in particular, there are no convincing candidate proteins for detection of DNA mismatches or the bulky lesions removed by excision repair pathways. Single-stranded DNA-binding proteins (SSBs) play a central role in DNA replication, recombination and repair. The crenarchaeal SSB is a monomer with a single oligonucleotide-binding fold for single-stranded DNA binding coupled to a flexible C-terminal tail reminiscent of bacterial SSB that mediates interactions with other proteins. We demonstrate that Sulfolobus solfataricus SSB can melt DNA containing a mismatch or DNA lesion specifically in vitro. We suggest that a potential role for SSB in archaea is the detection of DNA damage due to local destabilisation of the DNA double helix, followed by recruitment of specific repair proteins. Proteins interacting specifically with a single-stranded DNA:SSB complex include several known or putative DNA repair proteins and DNA helicases.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Biomolecular Sciences, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9ST, UK.
authors.forename: Liza
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cubeddu
authors.forename: Malcolm F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: White
mesh_terms: D019843:Archaeal Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D020137:Base Pair Mismatch; D001483:Base Sequence; D004249:DNA Damage; D017931:DNA Primers; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded / Q000378:metabolism; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D048229:Sulfolobus solfataricus / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D019843:Archaeal Proteins; D017931:DNA Primers; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded; D011994:Recombinant Proteins