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Arabidopsis RecQl4A suppresses homologous recombination and modulates DNA damage responses
Author(s) -
BagheriehNajjar Mohammad B.,
Vries Onno M.H.,
Hille Jacques,
Dijkwel Paul P.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
the plant journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.058
H-Index - 269
eISSN - 1365-313X
pISSN - 0960-7412
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-313x.2005.02501.x
Subject(s) - arabidopsis , biology , homologous recombination , mutant , genetics , dna damage , dna repair , gene , dna , ectopic recombination , arabidopsis thaliana , microbiology and biotechnology , genetic recombination , recombination
Summary The DNA damage response and DNA recombination are two interrelated mechanisms involved in maintaining the integrity of the genome, but in plants they are poorly understood. RecQ is a family of genes with conserved roles in the regulation of DNA recombination in eukaryotes; there are seven members in Arabidopsis. Here we report on the functional analysis of the Arabidopsis RecQl4A gene. Ectopic expression of Arabidopsis RecQl4A in yeast RecQ ‐deficient cells suppressed their hypersensitivity to the DNA‐damaging drug methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) and enhanced their rate of homologous recombination (HR). Analysis of three recQl4A mutant alleles revealed no obvious developmental defects or telomere deregulation in plants grown under standard growth conditions. Compared with wild‐type Arabidopsis, the recQl4A mutant seedlings were found to be hypersensitive to UV light and MMS, and more resistant to mitomycin C. The average frequency of intrachromosomal HR in recQl4A mutant plants was increased 7.5‐fold over that observed in wild‐type plants. The data reveal roles for Arabidopsis RecQl4A in maintenance of genome stability by modulation of the DNA damage response and suppression of HR.