No abstract

SUMMARY Mre11 forms the core of the multifunctional Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1 (MRN) complex that detects DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), activates the ATM checkpoint kinase, and initiates homologous recombination (HR) repair of DSBs. To de?ne the roles of Mre11 in both DNA bridging and nucleolytic processing during initiation of DSB repair, we combined small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and crystal structures of Pyrococcus furiosus Mre11 dimers bound to DNA with mutational analyses of ?ssion yeast Mre11. The Mre11 dimer adopts a four-lobed U-shaped structure that is critical for proper MRN complex assembly and for binding and aligning DNA ends. Further, mutations blocking Mre11 endonuclease activity impair cell survival after DSB induction without compromising MRN complex assembly or Mre11-dependant recruitment of Ctp1, an HR factor, to DSBs. These results show how Mre11 dimerization and nuclease activities initiate repair of DSBs and collapsed replication forks, as well as provide a molecular foundation for understanding cancer-causing Mre11 mutations in ataxia telangiectasia-like disorder (ATLD).

In fission yeast the onset of mitosis is brought about by Cdc2/Cdc13 kinase, which is inhibited by the Wee1/Mik1 tyrosine kinases and activated by Cdc25 tyrosine phosphatase. This control network integrates many signals, including those that monitor DNA replication, DNA damage and cell size. We report here that a fission yeast MAP kinase pathway links the cell-cycle G2/M control with changes in the extracellular environment that affect cell physiology. Fission yeast spc1- mutants have a G2 delay that is greatly exacerbated by growth in high osmolarity media and nutrient limitation. A lethal interaction of spc1 and cdc25 mutations shows that Spc1 promotes the onset of mitosis. Spc1 is a MAP kinase homologue that is activated by Wis1 kinase in response to osmotic stress and nutrient limitation. Spc1 is inactivated by Pyp1, a phosphatase previously identified as a mitotic inhibitor. Pyp1 dephosphorylates only tyrosine-173 of Spc1, unlike the dual-specificity phosphatases that have been shown to regulate other MAP kinases.

No abstract

Mus81, a fission yeast protein related to the XPF subunit of ERCC1-XPF nucleotide excision repair endonuclease, is essential for meiosis and important for coping with stalled replication forks. These processes require resolution of X-shaped DNA structures known as Holliday junctions. We report that Mus81 and an associated protein Eme1 are components of an endonuclease that resolves Holliday junctions into linear duplex products. Mus81 and Eme1 are required during meiosis at a late step of meiotic recombination. The mus81 meiotic defect is rescued by expression of a bacterial Holliday junction resolvase. These findings constitute strong evidence that Mus81 and Eme1 are subunits of a nuclear Holliday junction resolvase.