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1. Quantitative Methods to Investigate the 4D Dynamics of Heterochromatic Repair Sites in Drosophila Cells

   https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.mie.2017.11.033  

   Caridi, C ; Delabaere, L ; Tjong, H ; Hopp, H ; Das, D ; Alber, F ; Chiolo, I. ( March 2018 , Methods in enzymology)

   Heterochromatin is mostly composed of long stretches of repeated DNA sequences prone to ectopic recombination during double-strand break (DSB) repair. In Drosophila, “safe” homologous recombination (HR) repair of heterochromatic DSBs relies on a striking relocalization of repair sites to the nuclear periphery. Central to understanding heterochromatin repair is the ability to investigate the 4D dynamics (movement in space and time) of repair sites. A specific challenge of these studies is preventing phototoxicity and photobleaching effects while imaging the sample over long periods of time, and with sufficient time points and Z-stacks to track repair foci over time. Here we describe an optimized approach for high-resolution live imaging of heterochromatic DSBs in Drosophila cells, with a specific emphasis on the fluorescent markers and imaging setup used to capture the motion of repair foci over long-time periods. We detail approaches that minimize photobleaching and phototoxicity with a DeltaVision widefield deconvolution microscope, and image processing techniques for signal recovery postimaging using SoftWorX and Imaris software. We present a method to derive mean square displacement curves revealing some of the biophysical properties of the motion. Finally, we describe a method in R to identify tracts of directed motions (DMs) in mixed trajectories. These approaches enable a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of heterochromatin dynamics and genome stability in the three-dimensional context of the nucleus and have broad applicability in the field of nuclear dynamics. 

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2. ‘Off-pore’ nucleoporins relocalize heterochromatic breaks through phase separation

   Merigliano, Chiara ; Ryu, Taehyun ; See, Colby D. ; Caridi, Christopher P. ; Butova, Nadejda L ; Reynolds, Trevor ; Deng, Changfeng ; Chenoweth, David M. ; Capelson, Maya ; Chiolo Irene. ( December 2023 , Biorxiv)

   Heterochromatin mostly comprises repeated DNA sequences prone to ectopic recombination. In Drosophila cells, ‘safe’ homologous recombination (HR) repair of heterochromatic double-strand breaks (DSBs) requires relocalization of repair sites to the nuclear periphery before Rad51 recruitment and strand invasion. Relocalization is driven by nuclear actin filaments and myosins, while anchoring is mediated by the Nup107 complex at nuclear pores. Here, we show an additional ‘off pore’ role of nucleoporins in heterochromatin repair. Sec13 and Nup88 independently recruit Nup98 to DSBs before relocalization and downstream from the Smc5/6 complex and SUMOylation. Remarkably, the phase separation properties of Nup98 are required and sufficient to induce the mobilization of repair sites and to exclude Rad51, thus preventing aberrant recombination while facilitating HR repair. Disrupting this pathway results in heterochromatin repair defects, revealing a novel role for nucleoporins and phase separation in nuclear dynamics and genome integrity in a multicellular eukaryote. 

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3. Alternative end-joining results in smaller deletions in heterochromatin relative to euchromatin

   Miller, Jacob M ; Prange, Sydney ; Ji, Huanding ; Rau, Alesandra R ; Khodaverdian, Varandt Y ; Li, Xiao ; Patel, Avi ; Butova Nadejda L ; Lutter, Avery ; Chung, Helen ; et al ( December 2023 , eLife)

   Pericentromeric heterochromatin is highly enriched for repetitive sequences prone to aberrant recombination. Previous studies showed that homologous recombination (HR) repair is uniquely regulated in this domain to enable ‘safe’ repair while preventing aberrant recombination. In Drosophila cells, DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) relocalize to the nuclear periphery through nuclear actin-driven directed motions before recruiting the strand invasion protein Rad51 and completing HR repair. End-joining (EJ) repair also occurs with high frequency in heterochromatin of fly tissues, but how alternative EJ (alt-EJ) pathways operate in heterochromatin remains largely uncharacterized. Here, we induce DSBs in single euchromatic and heterochromatic sites using a new system that combines the DR-white reporter and I-SceI expression in spermatogonia of flies. Using this approach, we detect higher frequency of HR repair in heterochromatin, relative to euchromatin. Further, sequencing of mutagenic repair junctions reveals the preferential use of different EJ pathways across distinct euchromatic and heterochromatic sites. Interestingly, synthesis-dependent microhomology-mediated end joining (SD-MMEJ) appears differentially regulated in the two domains, with a preferential use of motifs close to the cut site in heterochromatin relative to euchromatin, resulting in smaller deletions. Together, these studies establish a new approach to study repair outcomes in fly tissues, and support the conclusion that heterochromatin uses more HR and less mutagenic EJ repair relative to euchromatin. 

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4. Loss of CBX2 induces genome instability and senescence-associated chromosomal rearrangements

   https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201910149  

   Baumann, Claudia ; Zhang, Xiangyu ; De La Fuente, Rabindranath ( November 2020 , Journal of Cell Biology)

   null (Ed.)

   The polycomb group protein CBX2 is an important epigenetic reader involved in cell proliferation and differentiation. While CBX2 overexpression occurs in a wide range of human tumors, targeted deletion results in homeotic transformation, proliferative defects, and premature senescence. However, its cellular function(s) and whether it plays a role in maintenance of genome stability remain to be determined. Here, we demonstrate that loss of CBX2 in mouse fibroblasts induces abnormal large-scale chromatin structure and chromosome instability. Integrative transcriptome analysis and ATAC-seq revealed a significant dysregulation of transcripts involved in DNA repair, chromocenter formation, and tumorigenesis in addition to changes in chromatin accessibility of genes involved in lateral sclerosis, basal transcription factors, and folate metabolism. Notably, Cbx2−/− cells exhibit prominent decondensation of satellite DNA sequences at metaphase and increased sister chromatid recombination events leading to rampant chromosome instability. The presence of extensive centromere and telomere defects suggests a prominent role for CBX2 in heterochromatin homeostasis and the regulation of nuclear architecture. 

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5. DNA damage induces nuclear actin filament assembly by Formin-2 and Spire-1/2 that promotes efficient DNA repair

   https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.07735  

   Belin, Brittany J ; Lee, Terri ; Mullins, R Dyche ( August 2015 , eLife)

   Actin filaments assemble inside the nucleus in response to multiple cellular perturbations, including heat shock, protein misfolding, integrin engagement, and serum stimulation. We find that DNA damage also generates nuclear actin filaments—detectable by phalloidin and live-cell actin probes—with three characteristic morphologies: (i) long, nucleoplasmic filaments; (ii) short, nucleolus-associated filaments; and (iii) dense, nucleoplasmic clusters. This DNA damage-induced nuclear actin assembly requires two biologically and physically linked nucleation factors: Formin-2 and Spire-1/Spire-2. Formin-2 accumulates in the nucleus after DNA damage, and depletion of either Formin-2 or actin's nuclear import factor, importin-9, increases the number of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), linking nuclear actin filaments to efficient DSB clearance. Nuclear actin filaments are also required for nuclear oxidation induced by acute genotoxic stress. Our results reveal a previously unknown role for nuclear actin filaments in DNA repair and identify the molecular mechanisms creating these nuclear filaments.

    

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