The role of Pif1p, a DNA helicase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, in maintaining mitochondrial DNA.
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is highly susceptible to oxidative and chemically induced damage, and these insults lead to a number of diseases. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the DNA helicase Pif1p is localized to the nucleus and mitochondria. We show that pif1 mutant cells are sensitive to ethidium bromide-induced damage and this mtDNA is prone to fragmentation. We also show that Pif1p associates with mtDNA. In pif1 mutant cells, mtDNA breaks at specific sites that exhibit Pif1-dependent recombination. We conclude that Pif1p participates in the protection from double-stranded (ds) DNA breaks or alternatively in the repair process of dsDNA breaks in mtDNA.
Cheng
Xin
X
Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Medicine, New Jersey Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, 185 South Orange Avenue, Newark, NJ 07101-1709, USA.
Dunaway
Stephen
S
Ivessa
Andreas S
AS
D004249:DNA Damage; D004265:DNA Helicases / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017931:DNA Primers; D004260:DNA Repair; D004261:DNA Replication; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000235:genetics; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000378:metabolism*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000201:enzymology*; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D017931:DNA Primers; D004271:DNA, Fungal; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; C085463:PIF1 protein, S cerevisiae; D004265:DNA Helicases