Replication protein A (RPA) coordinates important DNA metabolic events by stabilizing singlestrand DNA (ssDNA) intermediates, activating the DNA damage response, and handing off ssDNA to appropriate downstream players. Six DNA binding domains (DBDs) in RPA promote high affinity binding to ssDNA, but also allow RPA displacement by lower affinity proteins. We have made fluorescent versions of RPA and visualized the conformational dynamics of individual DBDs in the context of the full-length protein. We show that both DBD-A and DBD-D rapidly bind to and dissociate from ssDNA, while RPA as a whole remains bound to ssDNA.The recombination mediator protein Rad52 selectively modulates the dynamics of DBD-D. This demonstrates how RPA interacting proteins, with lower ssDNA binding affinity, can access the occluded ssDNA and remodel individual DBDs to replace RPA.
Main Text:In every eukaryotic cell, RPA binds to transiently exposed ssDNA and serves as a hub protein to coordinate essential DNA metabolic processes including replication, recombination, repair, and telomere maintenance 1,2 . Cellular functions of RPA rely on its high affinity ssDNA binding, its ability to physically interact with over two dozen DNA processing enzymes, and to correctly position these enzymes on complex DNA structures. The precise mechanisms through which RPA functions in many contexts; and more importantly, how it differentiates between multiple DNA metabolic events (DNA replication, repair or recombination) is a long-standing puzzle 1,3 .RPA is heterotrimeric, flexible, and modular in structure. It is composed of three subunits:RPA70, RPA32 and RPA14 (Figs.1a, b). The subunits harbor six 3 oligonucleotide/oligosaccharide binding folds (OB-folds; labeled A through F). We refer to the DNA binding OB-folds as DNA binding domains (DBDs; Fig. 1a). RPA binds to ssDNA with high, sub-nanomolar affinity, but can be displaced by DNA binding proteins with much lower DNA binding affinity. Recent studies have suggested that the RPA-ssDNA complex is relatively dynamic 4,5,6, positing a selective dissociative mechanism where not all DBDs are stably bound to the DNA at the same time and microscopic dissociation of individual DNA binding domains occurs.In all existing models for RPA function, DBDs A and B are assigned as high affinity binding domains. Purified DBD-A, DBD-B and DBD-A/DBD-B constructs bind ssDNA with KD values 2 µM, 20 µM and 50 nM, respectively 7-9 . The trimerization core made up of DBD-C (RPA70), DBD-D (RPA32) and DBD-E (RPA14) is considered to have a weaker ssDNA binding affinity (Kd>5μM) 10 . Additionally, mutational analysis of individual aromatic residues that interact with the ssDNA in either DBD-C or DBD-D show minimal perturbations on ssDNA binding affinity 6 . Paradoxically, in the recently solved crystal structure of the RPA-ssDNA complex (Fig. 1b), the interactions of all four DBD's with ssDNA are similar with DBD-C having more contacts with ssDNA bases than DBD-A, DBD-B or DBD-D 11 . Thus, the exact nature of the contributions from...