Induction of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) in ribosomal DNA (rDNA) repeats is associated with ATM-dependent repression of ribosomal RNA synthesis and large-scale reorganization of nucleolar architecture, but the signaling events that regulate these responses are largely elusive. Here we show that the nucleolar response to rDNA breaks is dependent on both ATM and ATR activity. We further demonstrate that ATM-and NBS1-dependent recruitment of TOPBP1 in the nucleoli is required for inhibition of ribosomal RNA synthesis and nucleolar segregation in response to rDNA breaks. Mechanistically, TOPBP1 recruitment is mediated by phosphorylation-dependent interactions between three of its BRCT domains and conserved phosphorylated Ser/Thr residues at the C-terminus of the nucleolar phosphoprotein Treacle. Our data thus reveal an important cooperation between TOPBP1 and Treacle in the signaling cascade that triggers transcriptional inhibition and nucleolar segregation in response to rDNA breaks.

DNA end resection initiates DNA double‐strand break repair by homologous recombination. MRE11‐RAD50‐NBS1 and phosphorylated CtIP perform the first resection step via MRE11‐catalyzed endonucleolytic DNA cleavage. Human NBS1, more than its homologue Xrs2 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is crucial for this process, highlighting complex mechanisms that regulate the MRE11 nuclease in higher eukaryotes. Using a reconstituted system, we show here that NBS1, through its FHA and BRCT domains, functions as a sensor of CtIP phosphorylation. NBS1 then activates the MRE11‐RAD50 nuclease through direct physical interactions with MRE11. In the absence of NBS1, MRE11‐RAD50 exhibits a weaker nuclease activity, which requires CtIP but not strictly its phosphorylation. This identifies at least two mechanisms by which CtIP augments MRE11: a phosphorylation‐dependent mode through NBS1 and a phosphorylation‐independent mode without NBS1. In support, we show that limited DNA end resection occurs in vivo in the absence of the FHA and BRCT domains of NBS1. Collectively, our data suggest that NBS1 restricts the MRE11‐RAD50 nuclease to S‐G2 phase when CtIP is extensively phosphorylated. This defines mechanisms that regulate the MRE11 nuclease in DNA metabolism.

No abstract