| Dynamic structures of Bacillus subtilis RecN–DNA complexes (2008) | |||||||||||||||
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| Genetic and cytological evidences suggest that Bacillus subtilis RecN acts prior to and after endprocessing of DNA double-strand ends via homologous recombination, appears to participate in the assembly of a DNA repair centre and interacts with incoming single-stranded (ss) DNA during natural transformation. We have determined the architecture of RecN–ssDNA complexes by atomic force microscopy (AFM). ATP induces changes in the architecture of the RecN–ssDNA complexes and stimulates inter-complex assembly, thereby increasing the local concentration of DNA ends. The large CII and CIII complexes formed are insensitive to SsbA (counterpart of Escherichia coli SSB or eukaryotic RPA protein) addition, but RecA induces dislodging of RecN from the overhangs of duplex DNA molecules. Reciprocally, in the presence of RecN, RecA does not form large RecA–DNA networks. Based on these results, we hypothesize that in the presence of ATP, RecN tethers the 3’-ssDNA ends, and facilitates the access of RecA to the high local concentration of DNA ends. Then, the resulting RecA nucleoprotein filaments, on different ssDNA segments, might promote the simultaneous genome-wide homology search.. This work was supported by grants BFU2006-01062 and CSD2007-00010 from Ministerio de Educación y Ciencias to J.C.A., S-0505/-MAT0283 from Comunidad de Madrid, and Grant-in-aid for Priority Area from the MEXT of Japan to K.T. Funding to pay the Open Access publication charges for this article was provided by BFU2006-01062 grant.. Peer reviewed | |||||||||||||||
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