DICER ribonuclease removes harmful R-loops

R-loops, which consist of a DNA-RNA hybrid and a displaced DNA strand, are known to threaten genome integrity. To counteract this, different mechanisms suppress R-loop accumulation by either preventing the hybridization of RNA with the DNA template (RNA biogenesis factors), unwinding the hybrid (DNA...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Pérez de Camino Cantos, Dolores, Dutta, Arijit, Barroso Ceballos, Sonia Inés, Pérez-Calero, Carmen, Katz, Jeffrey N., García Rubio, María Luisa, Sung, Patrick, Gómez González, Belén, Aguilera López, Andrés
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repositorio:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:idus________::88144c45111e16de4707a268d7562fe8
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/185491
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2023.09.021
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Genetic instability
R-loops
DICER
RNA nuclease
Descripción
Sumario:R-loops, which consist of a DNA-RNA hybrid and a displaced DNA strand, are known to threaten genome integrity. To counteract this, different mechanisms suppress R-loop accumulation by either preventing the hybridization of RNA with the DNA template (RNA biogenesis factors), unwinding the hybrid (DNA-RNA helicases), or degrading the RNA moiety of the R-loop (RNases H). Thus far, type H RNases are the only nucleases known to cleave DNA-RNA hybrids. Now, we show that the RNase DICER also resolves R-loops. Biochemical analysis reveals that DICER acts by specifically cleaving the RNA within R-loops. Importantly, a DICER RNase mutant impaired in R-loop processing causes a strong accumulation of R-loops in cells. Our results, thus, not only reveal a function of DICER as an R-loop resolvase independent of DROSHA, but also provide evidence for the role of multifunctional RNA processing factors in the maintenance of genome integrity in higher eukaryotes.