Resolution of Holliday junctions in vitro requires the Escherichia coli ruvC gene product.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 1829835.
- Also identified by PMC identifier 52022.
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Abstract
In previous studies, Holliday junctions generated during RecA-mediated strand-exchange reactions were resolved by fractionated Escherichia coli extracts. We now report the specific binding and cleavage of synthetic Holliday junctions (50 base pairs long) by a fraction purified by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, phosphocellulose, and single-stranded DNA-cellulose. The cleavage reaction provided a sensitive assay with which to screen extracts prepared from recombination/repair-deficient mutants. Cells with mutations in ruvC lack the nuclease activity that cleaves synthetic Holliday junctions in vitro. This deficiency was restored by a multicopy plasmid carrying a ruvC+ gene that overexpressed junction-resolving activity. The UV sensitivity and deficiency in recombinational repair of DNA exhibited by ruv mutants lead us to suggest that RuvC resolves Holliday junctions in vivo.
Medical subject headings
- Bacterial Proteins
- DNA Replication
- DNA, Bacterial
- Endodeoxyribonucleases
- Escherichia coli
- Escherichia coli Proteins
- Genes, Bacterial