Sulfolobus tokodaii RadA paralog, stRadC2, is involved in DNA recombination via interaction with RadA and Hjc

Rad51/RadA paralogs found in eukaryotes and euryarchaea play important roles during recombination and repair, and mutations in one of the human Rad51 paralogs, Rad51C, are associated with breast and ovarian cancers. The hyperthermophilic crenarchaeon Sulfolobus tokodaii encodes four putative RadA paralogs and studies on these proteins may assist in understanding the functions of human Rad51 paralogs. Here, we report the biochemical characterization of stRadC2, a S. tokodaii RadA paralog. Pull-down assays revealed that the protein was able to interact with the recombinase, RadA, and the Holliday junction endonuclease, Hjc. stRadC2 inhibited the strand exchange activity of RadA and facilitated Hjc-mediated Holliday junction DNA cleavage in vitro. RT-PCR analysis revealed that stRadC2 transcription was immediately reduced after UV irradiation, but was restored to normal levels at the late stages of DNA repair. Our results suggest that stRadC2 may act as an anti-recombination factor in DNA recombinational repair in S. tokodaii.