Holbeck S L, Smith G R
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington 98104.
Genetics. 1992 Dec;132(4):879-91. doi: 10.1093/genetics/132.4.879.
The major pathway of homologous recombination in Escherichia coli, the RecBCD pathway, is stimulated by Chi sites. To determine whether Chi enhances an early or late step in recombination, we measured formation of heteroduplex DNA (hDNA) in extracts of lambda-infected E. coli. Chi elevated hDNA levels in these extracts, supporting a role for Chi early (before hDNA formation) in recombination. RecA protein and RecBCD enzyme were both necessary for detection of hDNA, indicating that they, too, act early. Analysis of a panel of recBCD mutants indicated that Chi-nicking activity was needed for Chi's stimulation of hDNA formation. These results support a previously proposed model of recombination. Further results suggested that RecBCD enzyme has an additional role late in recombination.
大肠杆菌中同源重组的主要途径,即RecBCD途径,受到Chi位点的刺激。为了确定Chi是增强重组的早期步骤还是晚期步骤,我们测量了λ感染的大肠杆菌提取物中异源双链DNA(hDNA)的形成。Chi提高了这些提取物中的hDNA水平,支持了Chi在重组早期(hDNA形成之前)发挥作用的观点。RecA蛋白和RecBCD酶对于检测hDNA都是必需的,这表明它们也在早期起作用。对一组recBCD突变体的分析表明,Chi切割活性是Chi刺激hDNA形成所必需的。这些结果支持了先前提出的重组模型。进一步的结果表明,RecBCD酶在重组后期还有额外的作用。