ArticleMolecular biology of the cell2012
An essential role for the DNA breakage-repair protein Ku80 in programmed DNA rearrangements in Tetrahymena thermophila.
Article in Molecular biology of the cell, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers.
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Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 47 citations in OpenAlex.
- The mechanistic and evolutionary diversity of programmed DNA elimination.Nature reviews. Genetics · 2026Review
- How and when organisms edit their own genomes.Nature genetics · 2025Review
- Genes and proteins expressed at different life cycle stages in the model protist Euplotes vannus revealed by both transcriptomic and proteomic approaches.Science China. Life sciences · 2025Article
- Programmed chromosome fragmentation in ciliated protozoa: multiple means to chromosome ends.Microbiology and molecular biology reviews : MMBR · 2023Review
- Exploration of the Nuclear Proteomes in the CiliateMicroorganisms · 2023Article
- Small RNA-directed DNA elimination: the molecular mechanism and its potential for genome editing.RNA biology · 2021Review
- Programmed genome rearrangements in ciliates.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2020Review
- Article
- Functional diversification of Paramecium Ku80 paralogs safeguards genome integrity during precise programmed DNA elimination.PLoS genetics · 2020Article
- Diversification of small RNA amplification mechanisms for targeting transposon-related sequences in ciliates.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2019Article
- Setting boundaries for genome-wide heterochromatic DNA deletions through flanking inverted repeats in Tetrahymena thermophila.Nucleic acids research · 2019Article
- A specialized condensin complex participates in somatic nuclear maturation inMolecular biology of the cell · 2019Article
- Whats, hows and whys of programmed DNA elimination inOpen biology · 2017Review
- A germline-limited piggyBac transposase gene is required for precise excision in Tetrahymena genome rearrangement.Nucleic acids research · 2017Article
- Negative Regulators of an RNAi-Heterochromatin Positive Feedback Loop Safeguard Somatic Genome Integrity in Tetrahymena.Cell reports · 2017Article
- The Co-regulation Data Harvester: automating gene annotation starting from a transcriptome database.SoftwareX · 2017Article
- Mesenchymal Stem Cells Secretory Responses: Senescence Messaging Secretome and Immunomodulation Perspective.Frontiers in genetics · 2017Review
- DRH1, a p68-related RNA helicase gene, is required for chromosome breakage in Tetrahymena.Biology open · 2016Article
- The piggyBac transposon-derived genes TPB1 and TPB6 mediate essential transposon-like excision during the developmental rearrangement of key genes in Tetrahymena thermophila.Genes & development · 2016Article
- Programmed Minichromosome Elimination as a Mechanism for Somatic Genome Reduction in Tetrahymena thermophila.PLoS genetics · 2016Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Programmed DNA rearrangements are important processes present in many organisms. In the ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila, DNA rearrangements occur during the sexual conjugation process and lead to the deletion of thousands of specific DNA segments and fragmentation of the chromosomes. In this study, we found that the Ku80 homologue, a conserved component of the nonhomologous end-joining process of DNA repair, was essential for these two processes. During conjugation, TKU80 was highly expressed and localized to the new macronucleus, where DNA rearrangements occur. Homokaryon TKU80-knockout mutants are unable to complete conjugation and produce progeny and are arrested at the two-micronuclei/two-macronuclei stage. Analysis of their DNA revealed failure to complete DNA deletion. However, the DNA-cutting step appeared to have occurred, as evidenced by the presence of circularized excised DNA. Moreover, chromosome breakage or de novo telomere addition was affected. The mutant appears to accumulate free DNA ends detectable by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling assays that led to the degradation of most DNA in the developing macronucleus. These findings suggest that Tku80p may serve an end-protective role after DNA cleavage has occurred. Unexpectedly, the large heterochromatin structures that normally associate with DNA rearrangements failed to form without TKU80. Together the results suggest multiple roles for Tku80p and indicate that a Ku-dependent DNA-repair pathway is involved in programmed DNA rearrangements in Tetrahymena.
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