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Genetics, Vol. 173, 2033-2038, August 2006, Copyright © 2006
doi:10.1534/genetics.106.059436
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Department of Genetics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
1 Corresponding author: Department of Genetics, University of Wisconsin, 425G Henry Mall, Madison, WI 53706.
E-mail: wrengels{at}facstaff.wisc.edu
| ABSTRACT |
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11 kb can be repaired with approximately the same efficiency as breaks with no gap at all. However, a gap of 44 kb was repaired only rarely, and one of 210 kb was not repaired at a measurable frequency. We conclude that DNA gap repair is a length-limited process, but that this limitation is critical only for gaps >>11 kb.
The mechanisms for DSB repair are often classified according to whether or not a homologous template, usually the sister chromatid or the homolog, is used. Pathways that do not utilize a template, such as nonhomologous end joining (MOORE and HABER 1996) or single-strand annealing (FISHMAN-LOBELL et al. 1992; PRESTON et al. 2002), entail a greater risk of mutation but may be available in circumstances where templated repair is not. There are at least two pathways for homologous repair: one with the potential for crossing over and one without. Crossing over in meiosis is thought to depend on which of these two pathways is followed (ALLERS and LICHTEN 2001; HUNTER and KLECKNER 2001; BORNER et al. 2004; MAZINA et al. 2004). In mitotic cells there is evidence for competition among multiple pathways of homologous and nonhomologous mechanisms to repair the same pool of DSBs (PRESTON et al. 2006).
Homologous repair is necessary to restore the missing information when the DSB includes a gap. Studies in Drosophila (NASSIF et al. 1994; COVENY et al. 2002) and yeast (PAQUES et al. 1998) have shown that gaps as long as 10 kb can be repaired with only a two- to fourfold reduction in efficiency relative to breaks with little or no missing sequence. Here we examine much larger gaps, up to 210 kb, to determine whether homologous repair is limited by the length of gap that must be filled in.
| MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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PCR tests and flanking DNA sequencing:
DNA extraction for all PCR tests was done with individual flies as described (GLOOR and ENGELS 1992). Primers included D0 and G0 as described (PRESTON and ENGELS 1996). These primers span the P-insertion site at 50C and yield an amplicon of 145 bp if there is no insertion or deletion at this position. Gap lengths of the seven deletion chromosomes used here were determined by C. Flores, using thermal asymmetric interlaced PCR (LIU and WHITTIER 1995) to amplify a segment spanning the deletion and comparing its sequence with the Drosophila genome sequence.
| RESULTS |
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10 kbencompassed essential genes, thus rendering category A inviable. For that reason we used the average number of offspring in categories B, C, and D to estimate the Mendelian expectation for each class. Categories A'D' are similar to the corresponding genotypes in the top row except for the presence or absence of the P{w*} element, as indicated by eye color. These genotypes represent potential repair events (category A'), transposition events (categories B' and C'), or excision events without complete templated repair (category D'). Offspring in category A' were tested further by PCR as described (Table 2) to determine whether successful templated repair had occurred as opposed to end joining or other events that have been observed at this site (PRESTON and ENGELS 1996; PRESTON et al. 2002) or incomplete repair such as that described by MCVEY et al. (2004a,b). As described in Table 2, the observed ratio from these PCR results was then applied as a correction factor to determine the frequency of templated repair. Recombinants between al and sp were also scored, but these events were rare (203/72,601) and were not included in our calculations.
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Note that excision of the P{w*} element followed by end joining or incomplete repair can result in offspring phenotypically similar to category A'. To avoid error from these false positives, we extracted DNA from most of the A' offspring and tested them by PCR as described in Table 2. Such false positives are expected primarily from the no-deletion controls and the three smaller deletions that do not encompass any essential genes. In the case of the four larger deletions, all end-joining events and most incomplete repair events will render genotype A' inviable, and no false positive will occur. Therefore, as expected, the PCR correction given in Table 2 is substantial for the no-deletion controls and the three smaller deletions, but is nonexistent for the four largest deletions.
We tested eight chromosomes with deletions (i.e., gap lengths) ranging from 0 to 210 kb. An average of 96 individual male parents were testcrossed per chromosome for a total of 72,398 progeny scored in the experiment. The results are shown graphically in Figure 2 and are available numerically in more detail in Tables 1 and 2.
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The bottom bars show an alternative measure of gap repair that takes account of variation in P-element mobility among the deletion-bearing chromosomes. All of these chromosomes have the same P-element insertion, but its mobility can be affected by the flanking deletions that place one side of the element in a different DNA context. Since the P element carries a visible eye-color marker [mini-white (DRYSDALE et al. 2005), denoted w*], the same cross that yielded an estimate of the gap repair frequency also gave us an estimate of the P-element mobility. That is, the transposition rate is proportional to the number of al sp progeny carrying a copy of the P element, as described in more detail in Tables 1 and 2. Therefore, our alternative measure of repair efficiency is proportional to the number of transpositions (i.e., opportunities for gap repair) for each successful gap repair where the homolog serves as the template. Since it is a reciprocal measure of repair efficiency, the bars are drawn going downward in Figure 2.
We see from Figure 2 that gaps of length up to 11 kb were all repaired efficiently. In fact, only the 10-kb gap category had a repair frequency that differed significantly from any of the others in this group when comparisons were made using permutation tests with the single-male replicates. The chromosome carrying this 10-kb deletion was also unusual in having a transposition frequency of only 1%, which was less than half that of any of the other chromosomes in the study (Tables 1 and 2). If this chromosome is discounted, our results show no evidence that gaps up to 11 kb inhibit gap repair. The difference between gaps of up to 11 kb vs. the two larger gaps is even clearer when one compares the ratios of repair opportunities to successful templated repair events (Figure 2, bottom).
In contrast, the chromosome with a 43-kb deletion showed a markedly reduced repair frequency (Figure 2) even though its transposition rate of 11% was comparable to that of the other chromosomes (Tables 1 and 2). Even more striking was the complete lack of detectable homologous repair of 210-kb gaps. To maximize the power of our test with this chromosome, we performed 239 single-male crosses and scored 23,862 progeny but recovered no cases of homologous repair. We conclude that successful filling in of gaps is severely inhibited for gaps of 43 kb and essentially absent for gaps of 210 kb.
| DISCUSSION |
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Our results provide strong evidence that homologous gap repair is a length-limited process, but other interpretations should be considered. In particular, note that the two chromosomes that produce gaps of 43 and 210 kb have deletions extending in the rightward direction from the original P insert whereas the other chromosomes in this study extend leftward (Table 1). If this directional difference were somehow affecting gap repair, it would offer an alternative explanation for our main results. However, two lines of evidence argue against a directional effect being an important factor in the observed repair differences. First, our data show that the 43-kb deletion was repaired significantly more often than the 210-kb deletion (P = 0.01), even though both are in the same direction. In addition, previous data showing symmetrical conversion tracts following excision of this same P insert (PRESTON and ENGELS 1996) argue against direction being crucial. That is, we saw no evidence of a directional effect, at least for the relatively short conversion tracts (<3 kb) observed in that study.
When a gap is too large to be filled in from the homolog, there are at least two other options that would allow continuation of the cell cycle. If the cell is in late S-phase or G2, templated repair from the sister chromatid is possible. In that case, only the length of the P{w*} element must be filled in (Figure 1). Another possibility is nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ), which does not depend on the stage of the cell cycle. In fact, several NHEJ products were observed in the present study among the offspring in category A' in cases where the PCR test did not indicate templated repair. In some cases NHEJ was inferred from a PCR fragment larger or smaller than that expected from templated repair. In other cases, the mutant phenotype of the CP1 gene (GRAY et al. 1998) implied loss of sequences flanking the insertion, as would be consistent with end joining. For example, the 4-kb deletion yielded 91 offspring of category A' (Table 1). Of these, 39 had the CP1 mutant phenotype, suggesting an aberrant repair event of some kind, as was confirmed in 30/30 tested by PCR. In addition, the PCR tests showed that 5 of the 52 CP1+ offspring had no amplicon with primers D0 and G0, also indicating end joining or another aberrant event.
Why is homologous gap repair unable to handle longer gaps? PAQUES et al. (1998) suggested that the DNA polymerase used in DSB repair may lack processivity compared to the polymerase used for chromosome replication or break-induced replication (KRAUS et al. 2001). A similar suggestion was made by MCVEY et al. (2004a) to explain partial repair events. Time constraints in the cell cycle might also prevent polymerase from completing extremely long tracts. Nonhomologous end joining is available as an alternative to homologous pathways for repair of the same breaks. Indeed, the relative usage of these pathways varies in a compensatory fashion (PRESTON et al. 2006). The inability of homologous gap repair to handle extremely long gaps provides another rationale for the existence of multiple, but not necessarily redundant, mechanisms for DSB repair.
| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS |
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