title: Bacterial Proliferation: Keep Dividing and Don't Mind the Gap.
abstract: DNA Damage Tolerance (DDT) mechanisms help dealing with unrepaired DNA lesions that block replication and challenge genome integrity. Previous in vitro studies showed that the bacterial replicase is able to re-prime downstream of a DNA lesion, leaving behind a single-stranded DNA gap. The question remains of what happens to this gap in vivo. Following the insertion of a single lesion in the chromosome of a living cell, we showed that this gap is mostly filled in by Homology Directed Gap Repair in a RecA dependent manner. When cells fail to repair this gap, or when homologous recombination is impaired, cells are still able to divide, leading to the loss of the damaged chromatid, suggesting that bacteria lack a stringent cell division checkpoint mechanism. Hence, at the expense of losing one chromatid, cell survival and proliferation are ensured.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research Center of Marseille, Team DNA Damage Tolerance, CNRS, UMR7258; Inserm, U1068; Institut Paoli-Calmettes; Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Luisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Laureti
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research Center of Marseille, Team DNA Damage Tolerance, CNRS, UMR7258; Inserm, U1068; Institut Paoli-Calmettes; Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Demol
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research Center of Marseille, Team DNA Damage Tolerance, CNRS, UMR7258; Inserm, U1068; Institut Paoli-Calmettes; Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Robert P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Fuchs
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research Center of Marseille, Team DNA Damage Tolerance, CNRS, UMR7258; Inserm, U1068; Institut Paoli-Calmettes; Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pagès
mesh_terms: D002455:Cell Division; D053904:DNA Breaks, Single-Stranded; D004249:DNA Damage; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011938:Rec A Recombinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D059767:Recombinational DNA Repair
chemical_list: D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D011938:Rec A Recombinases