S. cerevisiaeMre11 recruits conjugated SUMO moieties to facilitate the assembly and function of the Mre11-Rad50-Xrs2 complex

Double-strand breaks (DSBs) in chromosomes are the most challenging type of DNA damage. The yeast and mammalian Mre11-Rad50-Xrs2/Nbs1 (MRX/N)-Sae2/Ctp1 complex catalyzes the resection of DSBs induced by secondary structures, chemical adducts or covalently-attached proteins. MRX/N also initiates two parallel DNA damage responses-checkpoint phosphorylation and global SUMOylation-to boost a cell's ability to repair DSBs. However, the molecular...