The RecA-directed recombination pathway of natural transformation initiates at chromosomal replication forks in the pneumococcus.

Autor: Johnston CHG; Laboratoire de Microbiologie et Génétique Moléculaires, UMR5100, Centre de Biologie Intégrative, Centre Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique, 31062 Toulouse, France.; Université Paul Sabatier (Toulouse III), 31062 Toulouse, France., Hope R; Laboratoire de Microbiologie et Génétique Moléculaires, UMR5100, Centre de Biologie Intégrative, Centre Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique, 31062 Toulouse, France.; Université Paul Sabatier (Toulouse III), 31062 Toulouse, France.; Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College, SW7 2AZ London, UK., Soulet AL; Laboratoire de Microbiologie et Génétique Moléculaires, UMR5100, Centre de Biologie Intégrative, Centre Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique, 31062 Toulouse, France.; Université Paul Sabatier (Toulouse III), 31062 Toulouse, France., Dewailly M; Laboratoire de Microbiologie et Génétique Moléculaires, UMR5100, Centre de Biologie Intégrative, Centre Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique, 31062 Toulouse, France.; Université Paul Sabatier (Toulouse III), 31062 Toulouse, France., De Lemos D; Laboratoire de Microbiologie et Génétique Moléculaires, UMR5100, Centre de Biologie Intégrative, Centre Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique, 31062 Toulouse, France.; Université Paul Sabatier (Toulouse III), 31062 Toulouse, France., Polard P; Laboratoire de Microbiologie et Génétique Moléculaires, UMR5100, Centre de Biologie Intégrative, Centre Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique, 31062 Toulouse, France.; Université Paul Sabatier (Toulouse III), 31062 Toulouse, France.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America [Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A] 2023 Feb 21; Vol. 120 (8), pp. e2213867120. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Feb 16.
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2213867120
Abstrakt: Homologous recombination (HR) is a crucial mechanism of DNA strand exchange that promotes genetic repair and diversity in all kingdoms of life. Bacterial HR is driven by the universal recombinase RecA, assisted in the early steps by dedicated mediators that promote its polymerization on single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). In bacteria, natural transformation is a prominent HR-driven mechanism of horizontal gene transfer specifically dependent on the conserved DprA recombination mediator. Transformation involves internalization of exogenous DNA as ssDNA, followed by its integration into the chromosome by RecA-directed HR. How DprA-mediated RecA filamentation on transforming ssDNA is spatiotemporally coordinated with other cellular processes remains unknown. Here, we tracked the localization of fluorescent fusions to DprA and RecA in Streptococcus pneumoniae and revealed that both accumulate in an interdependent manner with internalized ssDNA at replication forks. In addition, dynamic RecA filaments were observed emanating from replication forks, even with heterologous transforming DNA, which probably represent chromosomal homology search. In conclusion, this unveiled interaction between HR transformation and replication machineries highlights an unprecedented role for replisomes as landing pads for chromosomal access of tDNA, which would define a pivotal early HR step for its chromosomal integration.
Databáze: MEDLINE