title: The N- and C-termini of Elg1 contribute to the maintenance of genome stability.
abstract: ELG1 (enhanced level of genome instability) encodes a Replication Factor C (RFC) homolog that is important for the maintenance of genome stability. Elg1 interacts with Rfc2-5, forming the third alternative RFC complex identified to date. We found that Elg1 plays a role in the suppression of spontaneous DNA damage in addition to its previously identified roles in the resistance to DNA damage. Using mutational analysis we examined the function of conserved and unique regions of Elg1 in these roles. We found that the Walker A motif in the conserved RFC region is dispensable for Elg1 function in vivo. The RFC region is important for association with chromatin although residues predicted to mediate interactions with DNA are dispensable for Elg1 function. The unique C-terminus of Elg1 mediates oligomerization with Rfc2-5, nuclear import, and chromatin association, and is critical for the function of Elg1. Finally, we demonstrated that the N-terminus of Elg1 contributes to the maintenance of genome stability, and that one function of this N-terminus is to promote the nuclear localization of Elg1. Together, these studies delineate the regions of Elg1 important for its function in damage resistance and in the suppression of spontaneous DNA damage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Marta B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Davidson
authors.forename: Grant W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D004249:DNA Damage; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D042822:Genomic Instability; D047468:Immunoprecipitation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011485:Protein Binding; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; C477609:Elg1 protein, S cerevisiae; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins