Open AccessEvolutionary Divergence in DNA Damage Responses among Fungi
Author(s) -
Jacob L. Steenwyk
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
mbio
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.562
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 2161-2129
pISSN - 2150-7511
DOI - 10.1128/mbio.03348-20
Subject(s) - dna damage , g2 m dna damage checkpoint , saccharomyces cerevisiae , dna repair , checkpoint kinase 2 , effector , biology , dna , cell cycle checkpoint , chek1 , microbiology and biotechnology , dna re replication , gene , genome instability , genetics , cell cycle , genome , eukaryotic dna replication
Cell cycle checkpoints and DNA repair pathways contribute to maintaining genome integrity and are thought to be evolutionarily ancient and broadly conserved. For example, in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and humans, DNA damage induces activation of a checkpoint effector kinase, Rad53p (human homolog Chk2), to promote cell cycle arrest and transcription of DNA repair genes. However, recent studies have revealed variation in the DNA damage response networks of some fungi. For example, Shor et al. (mBio 11:e03044-20, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.03044-20) demonstrate that in comparison to S. cerevisiae , the fungal pathogen Candida glabrata has reduced activation of Rad53p in response to DNA damage. Consequently, some downstream targets that contribute to S. cerevisiae genome maintenance, such as DNA polymerases, are transcriptionally downregulated in C. glabrata Downregulation of genome maintenance genes likely contributes to higher rates of mitotic failure and cell death in C. glabrata This and other recent findings highlight evolutionary diversity in eukaryotic DNA damage responses.