Background: Zearalenone (ZEA) is known as a nonsteroidal oestrogenic mycotoxin produced by different species of Fusarium fungi. ZEA is known for its competitive effects with the natural 17-β estradiol to bind with the specific binding sites of the estrogen receptors (Ers). On the other hand, the cyclin family (especially cyclin D1) and E2F1 genes are the checkpoint genes involved in cell cycle....

The DNA damage checkpoint is activated in response to DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). We had previously shown that chromatin assembly mediated by the histone chaperone Asf1 triggers inactivation of the DNA damage checkpoint in yeast after DSB repair, also called checkpoint recovery. Here we show that chromatin assembly factor 1 (CAF-1) also contributes to chromatin reassembly after DSB repair,...

The onset of mitosis is controlled by the cyclin dependent kinase Cdc2p. Cdc2p activity is controlled through the balance of phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of tyrosine-15 (Y15) by the Wee1p kinase and Cdc25p phosphatase. In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, detection of DNA damage in G(2) activates a checkpoint that prevents entry into mitosis through the maintenance of Y15 ph...

Cell-cycle progression is monitored by checkpoint pathways that pause the cell cycle when stress arises to threaten the integrity of the genome. Although activation of checkpoint pathways has been extensively studied, our understanding of how cells resume the cell cycle when the stress is resolved is relatively limited. In this study, we identify the Saccharomyces cerevisiae F-box protein Dia2 ...

In order to preserve genome integrity, extrinsic or intrinsic DNA damages must be repaired before they accumulate in cells and trigger other mutations and genome rearrangements. Eukaryotic cells are able to respond to different genotoxic stresses as well as to single DNA double strand breaks (DSBs), suggesting highly sensitive and robust mechanisms to detect lesions that trigger a signal transd...

TopBP1 is a checkpoint protein that colocalizes with ATR at sites of DNA replication stress. In this study, we show that TopBP1 also colocalizes with 53BP1 at sites of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), but only in the G1-phase of the cell cycle. Recruitment of TopBP1 to sites of DNA replication stress was dependent on BRCT domains 1-2 and 7-8, whereas recruitment to sites of DNA DSBs was depende...

Cancer treatments such as radiotherapy and most of the chemotherapies act by damaging DNA of cancer cells. Upon DNA damage, cells stop proliferation at cell cycle checkpoints, which provides them time for DNA repair. Inhibiting the checkpoint allows entry to mitosis despite the presence of DNA damage and can lead to cell death. Importantly, as cancer cells exhibit increased levels of endogenous...

Double-checking DNA synthesis T he replication and spindle assembly checkpoints work together to prevent premature mitosis, Magiera et al. report. Cells need to copy their DNA before they can separate their chromosomes. The DNA replication checkpoint monitors the progress of the first step, and the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) regulates the second. Still uncertain is how cells dovetail the...

Double-strand breaks (DSBs) elicit a DNA damage response, resulting in checkpoint-mediated cell-cycle delay and DNA repair. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae Sae2 protein is known to act together with the MRX complex in meiotic DSB processing, as well as in DNA damage response during the mitotic cell cycle. Here, we report that cells lacking Sae2 fail to turn off both Mec1- and Tel1-dependent checkp...

As the most common type of DNA damage, DNA single-strand breaks (SSBs) are primarily repaired by the SSB repair mechanism. If not repaired properly or promptly, unrepaired SSBs lead to genome stability and have been implicated in cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. However, it remains unknown how unrepaired SSBs are recognized by DNA damage response (DDR) pathway, largely because of the lack...