Search PubMedSearch

Biomedical subjects

P D Moore

Publications and source records attributed to P D Moore.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Recombination hotspot activity of hypervariable minisatellite DNA requires minisatellite DNA binding proteins.

Hypervariable minisatellite DNA repeats are found at tens of thousands of loci in the mammalian genome. These sequences stimulate homologous recombination in mammalian cells [Cell 60:95-103]. To test the hypothesis that protein-DNA interaction is required for hotspot function in vivo, we determined whether a second protein binding nearby could abolish hotspot activity. Intermolecular recombination between pairs of plasmid substrates was measured in the presence or absence of the cis-acting recombination hotspot and in the presence or absence of the second trans-acting DNA binding protein. Minisatellite DNA had hotspot activity in two cell lines, but lacked hotspot activity in two closely related cell lines expressing a site-specific helicase that bound to DNA adjacent to the hotspot. Suppression of hotspot function occurred for both replicating and non-replicating recombination substrates. These results indicate that hotspot activity in vivo requires site occupancy by minisatellite DNA binding proteins.

Animals

Antiparallel, intramolecular triplex DNA stimulates homologous recombination in human cells.

The DNA motif 5'-AAGGGAGAAXGGGTATAGGGYAAGAGGGAA-3' (named XY32) is an H-palindrome and has been shown to undergo a superhelix-induced, pH-dependent structural transition to H-form (pyrimidine purineo pyrimidine triplex) DNA when X = Y = A (AA32) or X = Y = G (GG32), but when X = A and Y = G (AG32) or X = G and Y = A (GA32), the transition is much more difficult [Mirkin, S. (1987) Nature (London) 330, 495-497]. Furthermore, AA32, GG32, and GA32 triplexes have the proper sequence structure to potentially form pyrimidineopurineopurine (*H-form) triplexes, but AG32 does not [Beal, P. A. & Dervan, P. B. (1992) Nucleic Acids Res. 20, 2773-2776]. Using an in vivo plasmid-plasmid recombination assay system in cultured human cells, we have found that AA32, GA32, and GG32 stimulate homologous recombination between plasmids 3- to 5-fold when both recombination substrates contain these triplex-forming sequences, whereas AG32, which differs from the others by only 1 or 2 bp, does not significantly affect the frequency of recombination. Double-strand breaks, which destroy supercoiling, nullify the stimulation. Therefore, stimulation of homologous recombination between plasmids containing these sequences correlates with their triplex-forming potential. Crosses in which the triplex-forming sequence is inserted into only one substrate exhibit an intermediate stimulation, suggesting that the inserts are acting alone as intramolecular triplexes.

Base Sequence

In-vitro recombination in rad and rnc mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Extracts of S. cerevisiae cells can catalyze homologous recombination between plasmids in vitro. Extracts prepared from rad50, rad52 or rad54 disruption mutants all have reduced recombinational activity compared to wild-type. The rad52 and rad54 extracts are more impaired in the recombination of plasmids containing double-strand breaks than of intact plasmids, whereas rad50 extracts are deficient equally for both types of substrate. The nuclease RhoNuc (previously designated yNucR), encoded by the RNC1 (previously designated NUC2) gene and regulated by the RAD52 gene, is not required for recombination when one substrate is single-stranded but is essential for the majority of recombination events when both substrates are double-stranded. Furthermore, elimination of this nuclease restores recombination in rad52 extracts to levels comparable to those in wild-type extracts.

Deoxyribonucleases

Two hypervariable minisatellite DNA binding proteins.

Hypervariable minisatellite DNA sequences are short, tandemly repeated sequences present at numerous loci in eukaryotes. They stimulate intermolecular homologous recombination up to 13-fold in human cells in culture and may be specific sites for the initiation of recombination in the eukaryotic genome (Wahls, W.P., Wallace, L.J., & Moore, P.D. (1990) Cell 60, 95-103). Reported here is the detection and partial purification of two hypervariable minisatellite DNA binding proteins, called Msbp-2 and Msbp-3, present in the nuclear extracts of human HeLa cells. The proteins elute from a gel filtration column with a native mass of 200-250 kDa and have sizes of 77 kDa and 115 kDa respectively.

Base Sequence

Hypervariable minisatellite DNA is a hotspot for homologous recombination in human cells.

Hypervariable minisatellite DNA sequences are short tandemly repeated sequences that are present throughout the human genome and are implicated to enhance recombination. We have constructed a consensus hypervariable minisatellite sequence and analyzed its effect on homologous recombination in human cells in culture. The consensus sequence d(AGAGGTGGGCAGGTGG)6.5 is shown to stimulate homologous recombination up to 13.5-fold. The stimulation occurs at a distance and in both directions but does show a quantitative directionality. Stimulation occurs in a codominant manner, and the sequence is inherited equally in the products. Enhancement is maintained, but at a reduced level, when double-strand breaks are introduced into the substrates. Multiple unselected recombination events are promoted, and preferential stimulation of reciprocal exchange events is demonstrated.

Animals

Transformation and recombination in rad mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Disruption/deletion mutations in genes of the RAD52 epistasis group of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were examined for their effects on recombination between single- and double-stranded circular DNA substrates and chromosomal genes in a transformation assay. In rad50 mutants there was a small reduction in recombination with single-stranded DNA at the leu2-3, 112 allele; in addition there was an almost complete elimination of recombination at trp1-1 for both single- and double-stranded DNA. Reintroduction of a wild-type RAD50 gene on a replicating plasmid carrying CEN4 restored recombinational competence at trp1-1, indicating that rad50 is defective in gene replacement of this allele. In rad52 mutants a reduction of 30%-50% in recombination involving either single- or double-stranded circular DNA was observed in each experiment when compared to the wild type. This reduction of recombination in rad52 mutants was similar for recombination at the ura3-52 mutant locus where only integration events have been observed, and at the trp1-1 mutant locus, where recombination occurs predominantly by gene replacement. Neither the rad54 nor the rad57 mutations had a significant effect on recombination with single- or double-stranded DNA substrates.

Genes, Fungal

Relative frequencies of homologous recombination between plasmids introduced into DNA repair-deficient and other mammalian somatic cell lines.

Twelve mammalian somatic cell lines, some of them DNA damage-sensitive mutants paired with their respective wild-type parental lines, were assayed for their ability to catalyze extrachromosomal, intermolecular homologous recombination between pSV2neo plasmid recombination substrates. All of the somatic cell lines analyzed are capable of catalyzing homologous recombination; however, there is a wide range of efficiencies with which they do so. Five human cell lines display a fourfold range of recombination frequencies, and six hamster cell lines vary almost 20-fold. Linearizing one of the recombination substrates stimulates recombination in all but one of the cell lines. Two of the three paired mutant cell lines display a threefold reduction in their ability to catalyze homologous recombination when compared to their respective parental cell lines, indicating that the mutations that render them sensitive to DNA damaging agents might also play a role in homologous recombination.

Agammaglobulinemia

The Z-DNA motif d(TG)30 promotes reception of information during gene conversion events while stimulating homologous recombination in human cells in culture.

Tracts of the alternating dinucleotide polydeoxythymidylic-guanylic [d(TG)].polydeoxyadenylic-cytidylic acid [d(AC)], present throughout the human genome, are capable of readily forming left-handed Z-DNA in vitro. We have analyzed the effects of the Z-DNA motif d(TG)30 upon homologous recombination between two nonreplicating plasmid substrates cotransfected into human cells in culture. In this study, the sequence d(TG)30 is shown to stimulate homologous recombination up to 20-fold. Enhancement is specific to the Z-DNA motif; a control DNA fragment of similar size does not alter the recombination frequency. The stimulation of recombination is observed at a distance (237 to 1,269 base pairs away from the Z-DNA motif) and involves both gene conversion and reciprocal exchange events. Maximum stimulation is observed when the sequence is present in both substrates, but it is capable of stimulating when present in only one substrate. Analysis of recombination products indicates that the Z-DNA motif increases the frequency and alters the distribution of multiple, unselected recombination events. Specifically designed crosses indicate that the substrate containing the Z-DNA motif preferentially acts as the recipient of genetic information during gene conversion events. Models describing how left-handed Z-DNA sequences might promote the initiation of homologous recombination are presented.

Animals

Homologous recombination enhancement conferred by the Z-DNA motif d(TG)30 is abrogated by simian virus 40 T antigen binding to adjacent DNA sequences.

The Z-DNA motif polydeoxythymidylic-guanylic [d(TG)].polydeoxyadenylic-cytidylic acid [d(AC)], present throughout eucaryotic genomes, is capable of readily forming left-handed Z-DNA in vitro and has been shown to promote homologous recombination. The effects of simian virus 40 T-antigen-dependent substrate replication upon the stimulation of recombination conferred by the Z-DNA motif d(TG)30 were analyzed. Presence of d(TG)30 adjacent to a T-antigen-binding site I can stimulate homologous recombination between nonreplicating plasmids, providing that T antigen is absent, in both simian CV-1 cells and human EJ cells (W. P. Wahls, L. J. Wallace, and P. D. Moore, Mol. Cell. Biol. 10:785-793). It has also been shown elsewhere that the presence of d(TG)n not adjacent to the T-antigen-binding site can stimulate homologous recombination in simian virus 40 molecules replicating in the presence of T antigen (P. Bullock, J. Miller, and M. Botchan, Mol. Cell. Biol. 6:3948-3953, 1986). However, it is demonstrated here that d(TG)30 nine base pairs distant from a T-antigen-binding site bound with T antigen does not stimulate recombination between either replicating or nonreplicating substrates in somatic cells. The bound T antigen either prevents the d(TG)30 sequence from acquiring a recombinogenic configuration (such as left-handed Z-DNA), or it prevents the interaction of recombinase proteins with the sequence by stearic hindrance.

Animals

Induction of homologous recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

We have investigated the effects of UV irradiation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in order to distinguish whether UV-induced recombination results from the induction of enzymes required for homologous recombination, or the production of substrate sites for recombination containing regions of DNA damage. We utilized split-dose experiments to investigate the induction of proteins required for survival, gene conversion, and mutation in a diploid strain of S. cerevisiae. We demonstrate that inducing doses of UV irradiation followed by a 6 h period of incubation render the cells resistant to challenge doses of UV irradiation. The effects of inducing and challenge doses of UV irradiation upon interchromosomal gene conversion and mutation are strictly additive. Using the yeast URA3 gene cloned in non-replicating single- and double-stranded plasmid vectors that integrate into chromosomal genes upon transformation, we show that UV irradiation of haploid yeast cells and homologous plasmid DNA sequences each stimulate homologous recombination approximately two-fold, and that these effects are additive. Non-specific DNA damage has little effect on the stimulation of homologous recombination, as shown by studies in which UV-irradiated heterologous DNA was included in transformation/recombination experiments. We further demonstrate that the effect of competing single- and double-stranded heterologous DNA sequences differs in UV-irradiated and unirradiated cells, suggesting an induction of recombinational machinery in UV-irradiated S. cerevisiae cells.

DNA Damage

Homologous recombination between single-stranded DNA and chromosomal genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Transformation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains was examined by using the URA3 and TRP1 genes cloned into M13 vectors in the absence of sequences capable of promoting autonomous replication. These constructs transform S. cerevisiae cells to prototrophy by homologous recombination with the resident mutant gene. Single-stranded DNA was found to transform S. cerevisiae cells at efficiencies greater than that of double-stranded DNA. No conversion of single-stranded transforming DNA into duplex forms could be detected during the transformation process, and we conclude that single-stranded DNA may participate directly in recombination with chromosomal sequences. Transformation with single-stranded DNA gave rise to both gene conversion and reciprocal exchange events. Cotransformation with competing heterologous single-stranded DNA specifically inhibited transformation by single-stranded DNA, suggesting that one of the components in the transformation-recombination process has a preferential affinity for single-stranded DNA.

Binding, Competitive

Homologous recombination in a Chinese hamster X-ray-sensitive mutant.

We have tested the mutant Chinese hamster cell line xrs-5, which is sensitive to ionizing radiation, for the ability to carry out homologous recombination. In an in vivo assay to detect recombination between two transfected plasmids carrying non-complementing mutants in the neomycin resistance gene, xrs-5 showed a 6-fold reduction in recombination frequency when compared to the parental cell line K1. Extracts prepared from nuclei of the mutant were also tested for their ability to catalyze homologous recombination between the same two plasmids in vitro. Extracts from xrs-5 were found to mediate recombination in this assay at frequencies not significantly different from those obtained with extracts from the parental cell line.

Animals

Transfection and homologous recombination involving single-stranded DNA substrates in mammalian cells and nuclear extracts.

We have examined the ability of single-stranded DNA to participate in homologous recombination reactions in mammalian cells and nuclear extracts derived from them. We have inserted a fragment of the neo gene into the single-stranded DNA phage vector M13 mp11. The neo fragment was derived from a deletion derivative of the prokaryotic-eukaryotic shuttle vector pSV2neo. The resulting single-stranded DNA was mixed with a double-stranded deletion derivative of pSV2neo and tested for recombination in human cells, monkey cells, and nuclear extracts obtained from human cells. We were able to obtain recombinant molecules containing wild-type neo genes in all three systems. Examination of the products of recombination indicated that they resulted from correction of the deletion in the double-stranded DNA substrate. We were unable to detect any extensive conversion of single-stranded DNA into its double-stranded counterpart before it participated in the recombination reaction. We have also tested the ability of single-stranded DNA to yield transfectants. When a single-stranded DNA derivative of the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (TK) gene was introduced into mouse L-M(TK-) cells, we were able to obtain TK+ colonies. From these results, we conclude that single-stranded DNA can participate in transfection as well as homologous recombination reactions in mammalian cells.

Animals

Homologous recombination catalyzed by human cell extracts.

Two plasmids containing noncomplementing and nonreverting deletions in a bacterial phosphotransferase gene conferring resistance to neomycin (Neor) were incubated with human cell extracts, and the mixtures were used to transform recombination-deficient (recA-) Escherichia coli cells. We were able to obtain Neor colonies at a frequency of 2 X 10(-3). This frequency was 100 to 1,000 times higher than that obtained with no extracts. The removal of riboadenosine 5'-triphosphate, Mg2+, or deoxynucleoside triphosphates from the reaction mixture severely reduced the yield of Neor colonies. Examination of plasmid DNA from the Neor colonies revealed that they resulted from gene conversion and reciprocal recombination. On the basis of these results, we conclude that mammalian somatic cells in culture have the enzymatic machinery to catalyze homologous recombination in vitro.

Cell Line

In vitro bypass of UV-induced lesions by Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I: specificity of nucleotide incorporation.

A variety of DNA polymerases, synthesizing in vitro on an UV-irradiated phi X174 DNA template, terminate synthesis one nucleotide before the 3' pyrimidines of putative dimers on the template. We have devised a system using Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I (Klenow fragment) that can synthesize past at least some of these dimers. The bypass is carried out in a multistep process--first, the incorporation of nucleotides opposite the pyrimidines in the dimer and, then, the addition of nucleotides complementary to the bases distal to the dimer. The insertion of a nucleotide opposite the first (3') pyrimidine of a putative dimer in the presence of Mn2+ occurs in a concentration-dependent fashion with a 3- to 4-fold preference for purine nucleotides over pyrimidine nucleotides. In the presence of Mg2+, insertion is less frequent. Correlation of these results with in vivo mutation data suggests a role for the polymerase in determining the spectrum of base substitution mutagenesis in SOS induced cells.

Base Sequence

In vitro replication of mutagen-damaged DNA: sites of termination.

We have examined the effect of DNA lesions, which in vivo are potentially mutagenic, on in vitro DNA synthesis carried out by a number of purified DNA polymerases using a 0X174 template. Both acetyl aminofluorene (AAF) adducts and UV-induced pyrimidine dimers are blocks to elongation by DNA polymerases. On UV-irradiated DNA templates synthesis terminates one nucleotide before the sites of pyrimidine dimers with all of the enzymes tested: Pol I and Pol III holoenzyme from Escherichia coli, T4 DNA polymerase, avian myeloblastosis virus reverse transcriptase and a mammalian DNA polymerase alpha. With AAF, which reacts at the C-8 position of guanine, differences are observed between the above enzymes, with the latter two inserting a nucleotide opposite the site of the lesion. Substitution of Mn2+ for Mg2+ as the cation in the Pol I reactions causes changes in the termination pattern on both UV-irradiated and AAF-reacted templates. The significance of these results to the process of inducible error-prone repair and the possible bypass of lesions in the DNA is discussed.

Bacteriophage phi X 174

Effect of acetylated and deacetylated 2-aminofluorene adducts on in vitro DNA synthesis.

We have constructed primed phi X174 DNA templates containing either acetylated or deacetylated aminofluorene adducts at the C-8 position of guanine. T4 DNA polymerase terminates synthesis one nucleotide before the acetylated adducts but incorporates an additional nucleotide opposite the deacetylated guanylaminofluorene. These observations can be explained by the known preferred conformations of the acetylated and deacetylated guanosinylaminofluorene nucleosides--the former favoring the syn conformation (so that in DNA the guanine is displaced from the helix by the fluorene ring) and the latter preferring the anti conformation (which allows normal base pairing of the guanine with cytosine). A similar differentiation between the two adducts was found with Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I. In contrast, avian myeloblastosis virus (AMV) reverse transcriptase, which terminated with a nucleotide inserted opposite the acetylated adducts, was less able to do so at the deacetylated adducts. The nucleoside incorporated by AMV reverse transcriptase opposite the acetylated adduct was exclusively cytidine, which suggests regular base pairing with the reacted guanosine nucleoside in the anti conformation; however, synthesis was completely blocked and unable to continue beyond this point. The differences between the termination patterns of the prokaryotic enzymes and AMV reverse transcriptase indicates that specific properties of a replicating polymerase can influence the conformation of a reacted nucleoside in the DNA, thus altering its recognition and possibly its mutagenic activity.

2-Acetylaminofluorene