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Updated: Apr 11, 2026

Author Spotlight: Quantitative Detection of DNA Protein Crosslinks and Their Post-Translational Modifications
Published on: April 21, 2023
Quantitative Proteomic Atlas of Ubiquitination and Acetylation in the DNA Damage Response
Andrew E H Elia1, Alexander P Boardman1, David C Wang1
1Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School; Division of Genetics, Brigham and Women's Hospital; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Abstract:
Execution of the DNA damage response (DDR) relies upon a dynamic array of protein modifications. Using quantitative proteomics, we have globally profiled ubiquitination, acetylation, and phosphorylation in response to UV and ionizing radiation. To improve acetylation site profiling, we developed the strategy FACET-IP. Our datasets of 33,500 ubiquitination and 16,740 acetylation sites provide valuable insight into DDR remodeling of the proteome. We find that K6- and K33-linked polyubiquitination undergo bulk increases in response to DNA damage, raising the possibility that these linkages are largely dedicated to DDR function. We also show that Cullin-RING ligases mediate 10% of DNA damage-induced ubiquitination events and that EXO1 is an SCF-Cyclin F substrate in the response to UV radiation. Our extensive datasets uncover additional regulated sites on known DDR players such as PCNA and identify previously unknown DDR targets such as CENPs, underscoring the broad impact of the DDR on cellular physiology.

