Characterization of two nuclear mammalian homologous DNA-pairing activities that do not require associated exonuclease activity.

We have developed an assay to study homologous DNA-pairing activities in mammalian nuclear extracts. This assay is derived from the POM blot assay, described earlier, which was specific for RecA activity in bacterial crude extracts. In the present work, proteins from mammalian nuclear extracts were resolved by electrophoresis on SDS/polyacrylamide gels and then electrotransferred onto a nitrocellulose membrane coated with circular single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). The blot obtained was incubated with a labeled homologous double-stranded DNA (dsDNA). Homologous pairing between the ssDNA and the labeled dsDNA was detected by autoradiography as a radioactive spot on the membrane. In nuclear extracts from mammalian cells, we found two major polypeptides of 100 and 75 kDa, able to promote the formation of stable plectonemic joints. Joint molecule formation required at least one homologous end on the dsDNA, but either end of the dsDNA could be recruited to initiate the reaction. For each polypeptide, the reaction required divalent cations such as Mg2+, Ca2+, or Mn2+. Although ATP was not necessary, ADP was inhibitory in each case. Unlike most of the known eukaryotic DNA-pairing proteins, both activities identified here were able to promote the formation of joint molecules without requiring an associated exonuclease activity. In addition, these two proteins were detected in cell lines from different tissues and from different mammalian species (human, mouse, and hamster).