dna repair 7 (2008) 1–9
available at www.sciencedirect.com
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/dnarepair
Mini-review
Fission yeast Swi5 protein, a novel DNA
recombination mediator
Nami Haruta
a,1
, Yufuko Akamatsu
a,2
, Yasuhiro Tsutsui
b
, Yumiko Kurokawa
a
,
Yasuto Murayama
a
, Benoit Arcangioli
c
, Hiroshi Iwasaki
a,∗
a
International Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Yokohama City University, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan
b
National Institute of Genetics, Yata 1111, Mishima, Shizuoka 411-8540, Japan
c
Institut Pasteur, Paris Cedex 15, France
article info
Article history:
Received 9 July 2007
Accepted 9 July 2007
Published on line 22 August 2007
Keywords:
Swi5–Sfr1
Rad51
Dmc1
Homologous recombination
Recombination mediator
Schizosaccharomyces pombe
abstract
The Schizosaccharomyces pombe Swi5 protein forms two distinct protein complexes, Swi5–Sfr1
and Swi5–Swi2, each of which plays an important role in the related but functionally dis-
tinct processes of homologous recombination and mating-type switching, respectively. The
Swi5–Sfr1 mediator complex has been shown to associate with the two RecA-like recombi-
nases, Rhp51 (spRad51) and Dmc1, and to stimulate in vitro DNA strand exchange reactions
mediated by these proteins. Genetic analysis indicates that Swi5–Sfr1 works independently
of another mediator complex, Rhp55–Rhp57, during Rhp51-dependent recombinational
repair. In addition, mutations affecting the two mediators generate distinct repair spectra of
HO endonuclease-induced DNA double strand breaks, suggesting that these recombination
mediators differently regulate recombination outcomes in an independent manner.
© 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Contents
1. Introduction..................................................................................................................... 2
2. Mating type switching and the S. pombe swi5 gene........................................................................... 2
3. Two Swi5-interacting proteins in S. pombe..................................................................................... 2
4. Two sub-pathways dependent on Swi5–Sfr1 and Rhp55–Rhp57 in Rhp51-mediated recombinational repair in S. pombe .4
5. Swi5–Sfr1 and Rhp55–Rhp57 function redundantly in Rhp51 assembly on DNA............................................ 5
6. Purification of the Swi5–Sfr1 complex ......................................................................................... 5
7. The Swi5–Sfr1 complex stimulates Rhp51-dependent strand exchange..................................................... 5
8. The mechanism of Rhp51-dependent strand exchange stimulated by the Swi5–Sfr1 complex ............................ 5
9. Function of the Swi5–Sfr1 complex in meiosis................................................................................ 6
∗
Corresponding author. Tel.: +81 45 508 7238; fax: +81 45 508 7369.
E-mail address: iwasaki@tsurumi.yokohama-cu.ac.jp (H. Iwasaki).
1
Present address: Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
2
Present address: Developmental Biology Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021,
USA.
1568-7864/$ – see front matter © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.dnarep.2007.07.004