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Mus81-Eme1 are essential components of a Holliday junction resolvase

M N Boddy1, Pierre-Henri L Gaillard, W H McDonald

  • 1Department of Molecular Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.

Cell
|November 24, 2001
PubMed

Insights

The Mus81-Eme1 endonuclease resolves complex DNA structures called Holliday junctions, which are crucial for meiosis and DNA repair. This fission yeast enzyme is essential for resolving these junctions during meiotic recombination.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular biology
  • Genetics
  • DNA repair

Background:

  • Mus81 is a fission yeast protein homologous to XPF, a subunit of the ERCC1-XPF nucleotide excision repair endonuclease.
  • Mus81 is vital for meiosis and managing stalled replication forks.
  • Resolution of Holliday junctions, which are X-shaped DNA structures, is critical for these processes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the function of Mus81 and its associated protein Eme1 in resolving Holliday junctions.
  • To determine the role of the Mus81-Eme1 complex in meiotic recombination.

Main Methods:

  • Biochemical assays to characterize the endonuclease activity of Mus81 and Eme1.
  • Genetic analysis in fission yeast to assess the role of Mus81 and Eme1 in meiosis and DNA repair.
  • Complementation studies using a bacterial Holliday junction resolvase to rescue mus81 meiotic defects.

Main Results:

  • Mus81 and Eme1 form an endonuclease complex that resolves Holliday junctions into linear duplex DNA.
  • The Mus81-Eme1 complex is required for a late step in meiotic recombination.
  • A bacterial Holliday junction resolvase can rescue the meiotic defect caused by the absence of Mus81.

Conclusions:

  • Mus81 and Eme1 are essential subunits of a nuclear Holliday junction resolvase in fission yeast.
  • This enzyme plays a critical role in resolving DNA structures during meiosis.
  • The findings provide strong evidence for the function of Mus81-Eme1 as a key resolvase in meiotic processes.

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