Meiotic DNA Repair in the Nucleolus Employs a Nonhomologous End-Joining Mechanism

The mechanism of double-strand DNA break repair by the nonhomologous DNA end-joining pathway.

Double-strand DNA breaks are common events in eukaryotic cells, and there are two major pathways for repairing them: homologous recombination (HR) and nonhomologous DNA end joining (NHEJ). The various causes of double-strand breaks (DSBs) result in a diverse chemistry of DNA ends that must be repaired. Across NHEJ evolution, the enzymes of the NHEJ pathway exhibit a remarkable degree of structu...

The Exonuclease Homolog OsRAD1 Promotes Accurate Meiotic Double-Strand Break Repair by Suppressing Nonhomologous End Joining.

During meiosis, programmed double-strand breaks (DSBs) are generated to initiate homologous recombination, which is crucial for faithful chromosome segregation. In yeast, Radiation sensitive1 (RAD1) acts together with Radiation sensitive9 (RAD9) and Hydroxyurea sensitive1 (HUS1) to facilitate meiotic recombination via cell-cycle checkpoint control. However, little is known about the meiotic fun...

SnapShot: Nonhomologous DNA End Joining (NHEJ)

The Minimal Bacillus subtilis Nonhomologous End Joining Repair Machinery

It is widely accepted that repair of double-strand breaks in bacteria that either sporulate or that undergo extended periods of stationary phase relies not only on homologous recombination but also on a minimal nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) system consisting of a dedicated multifunctional ATP-dependent DNA Ligase D (LigD) and the DNA-end-binding protein Ku. Bacillus subtilis is one of the ba...

Non-homologous end joining as a mechanism of DNA repair

In spite of its essential role as the carrier of genetic information, DNA is not an inert structure. The genome is susceptible to potentially mutagenic threats of both endogenous and environmental origin. A dramatic threat to the covalent structure of DNA is posed by breaks in the phosphate backbone affecting one or both strands of the Watson–Crick double helix. Ionizing radiation and certain c...