title: Double-strand break repair in bacteria: a view from Bacillus subtilis.
abstract: In all living organisms, the response to double-strand breaks (DSBs) is critical for the maintenance of chromosome integrity. Homologous recombination (HR), which utilizes a homologous template to prime DNA synthesis and to restore genetic information lost at the DNA break site, is a complex multistep response. In Bacillus subtilis, this response can be subdivided into five general acts: (1) recognition of the break site(s) and formation of a repair center (RC), which enables cells to commit to HR; (2) end-processing of the broken end(s) by different avenues to generate a 3'-tailed duplex and RecN-mediated DSB 'coordination'; (3) loading of RecA onto single-strand DNA at the RecN-induced RC and concomitant DNA strand exchange; (4) branch migration and resolution, or dissolution, of the recombination intermediates, and replication restart, followed by (5) disassembly of the recombination apparatus formed at the dynamic RC and segregation of sister chromosomes. When HR is impaired or an intact homologous template is not available, error-prone nonhomologous end-joining directly rejoins the two broken ends by ligation. In this review, we examine the functions that are known to contribute to DNA DSB repair in B. subtilis, and compare their properties with those of other bacterial phyla.
authors.affiliation: Departmento de Biotecnología Microbiana, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología, CSIC, Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ayora
authors.forename: Begoña
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Carrasco
authors.forename: Paula P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Cárdenas
authors.forename: Carolina E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: César
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cañas
authors.forename: Tribhuwan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yadav
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marchisone
authors.forename: Juan C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Alonso
mesh_terms: D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D053903:DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded; D004260:DNA Repair; D059765:Homologous Recombination; D011938:Rec A Recombinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D011938:Rec A Recombinases