DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) can be repaired either via homologous recombination (HR) or nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ). Both pathways are operative in eukaryotes, but bacteria had been thought to rely on HR alone. Here we provide direct evidence that mycobacteria have a robust NHEJ pathway that requires Ku and a specialized polyfunctional ATP-dependent DNA ligase (LigD). NHEJ of blunt-end and complementary 5'-overhang DSBs is highly mutagenic ( approximately 50% error rate). Analysis of the recombination junctions ensuing from individual NHEJ events highlighted the participation of several DNA end-remodeling activities, including template-dependent fill-in of 5' overhangs, nontemplated addition of single nucleotides at blunt ends, and nucleolytic resection. LigD itself has the template-dependent and template-independent polymerase functions in vitro that compose the molecular signatures of NHEJ in vivo. Another ATP-dependent DNA ligase (LigC) provides a backup mechanism for LigD-independent error-prone repair of blunt-end DSBs. We speculate that NHEJ allows mycobacteria to evade genotoxic host defense.

The iron-regulated surface proteins IsdA, IsdB, and IsdC and transporter IsdDEF of Staphylococcus aureus are involved in heme acquisition. To establish an experimental model of heme acquisition by this system, we have investigated hemin transfer between the various couples of human methemoglobin (metHb), IsdA, IsdB, IsdC, and IsdE by spectroscopic and kinetic analyses. The efficiencies of hemin transfer from hemin-containing donors (holo-protein) to different hemin-free acceptors (apo-protein) were examined, and the rates of the transfer reactions were compared with that of indirect loss of hemin from the relevant donor to H64Y/V68F apomyoglobin. The efficiencies, spectral changes, and kinetics of the transfer reactions demonstrate that: 1) metHb directly transfers hemin to apo-IsdB, but not to apo-IsdA, apo-IsdC, and apo-IsdE; 2) holo-IsdB directly transfers hemin to apo-IsdA and apo-IsdC, but not to apo-IsdE; 3) apo-IsdE directly acquires hemin from holo-IsdC, but not from holo-IsdB and holo-IsdA; and 4) IsdB and IsdC enhance hemin transfer from metHb to apo-IsdC and from holo-IsdB to apo-IsdE, respectively. Taken together with our recent finding that holo-IsdA directly transfers its hemin to apo-IsdC, these results provide direct experimental evidence for a model in which IsdB acquires hemin from metHb and transfers it directly or through IsdA to IsdC. Hemin is then relayed to IsdE, the lipoprotein component of the IsdDEF transporter.

The iron-regulated surface determinants (Isd) of Staphylococcus aureus, including surface proteins IsdA, IsdB, IsdC, and IsdH and ATP-binding cassette transporter IsdDEF, constitute the machinery for acquiring heme as a preferred iron source. Here we report hemin transfer from hemin-containing IsdA (holo-IsdA) to hemin-free IsdC (apo-IsdC). The reaction has an equilibrium constant of 10 ؎ 5 at 22°C in favor of holo-IsdC formation. During the reaction, holo-IsdA binds to apo-IsdC and then transfers the cofactor to apo-IsdC with a rate constant of 54.3 ؎ 1.8 s ؊1 at 25°C. The transfer rate is >70,000 times greater than the rate of simple hemin dissociation from holoIsdA into solvent (k transfer ‫؍‬ 54.3 s ؊1 versus k ؊hemin ‫؍‬ 0.00076 s ؊1 ). The standard free energy change, ⌬G 0 , is ؊27 kJ/mol for the formation of the holo-IsdA-apo-IsdC complex. IsdC has a higher affinity for hemin than IsdA. These results indicate that the IsdA-to-IsdC hemin transfer is through the activated holoIsdA-apo-IsdC complex and is driven by the higher affinity of apo-IsdC for the cofactor. These findings demonstrate for the first time in the Isd system that heme transfer is rapid, direct, and affinity-driven from IsdA to IsdC. These results also provide the first example of heme transfer from one surface protein to another surface protein in Gram-positive bacteria and, perhaps most importantly, indicate that the mechanism of activated heme transfer, which we previously demonstrated between the streptococcal proteins Shp and HtsA, may apply in general to all bacterial heme transport systems.

DNA ligase D (LigD) is a large polyfunctional protein that participates in a recently discovered pathway of nonhomologous endjoining in bacteria. LigD consists of an ATP-dependent ligase domain fused to a polymerase domain (Pol) and a phosphoesterase module. The Pol activity is remarkable for its dependence on manganese, its ability to perform templated and nontemplated primer extension reactions, and its preference for adding ribonucleotides to blunt DNA ends. Here we report the 1.5-Å crystal structure of the Pol domain of Pseudomonas LigD and its complexes with manganese and ATP͞dATP substrates, which reveal a minimized polymerase with a two-metal mechanism and a fold similar to that of archaeal DNA primase. Mutational analysis highlights the functionally relevant atomic contacts in the active site. Although distinct nucleoside conformations and contacts for ATP versus dATP are observed in the cocrystals, the functional analysis suggests that the ATP-binding mode is the productive conformation for dNMP and rNMP incorporation. We find that a mutation of Mycobacterium LigD that uniquely ablates the polymerase activity results in increased fidelity of blunt-end doublestrand break repair in vivo by virtue of eliminating nucleotide insertions at the recombination junctions. Thus, LigD Pol is a direct catalyst of mutagenic nonhomologous end-joining in vivo. Our studies underscore a previously uncharacterized role for the primase-like polymerase family in DNA repair.DNA repair ͉ double-strand breaks ͉ mycobacteria ͉ Pseudomonas