The PIN domain of EXO1 recognizes poly(ADP-ribose) in DNA damage response

Following DNA double-strand breaks, poly(ADP-ribose) (PAR) is quickly and heavily synthesized to mediate fast and early recruitment of a number of DNA damage response factors to the sites of DNA lesions and facilitates DNA damage repair. Here, we found that EXO1, an exonuclease for DNA damage repair, is quickly recruited to the sites of DNA damage via PAR-binding. With further dissection of the functional domains of EXO1, we report that the PIN domain of EXO1 recognizes PAR both in vitro and in vivo and the interaction between the PIN domain and PAR is sufficient for the recruitment. We also found that the R93G variant of EXO1, generated by a single nucleotide polymorphism, abolishes the interaction and the early recruitment. Moreover, our study suggests that the PAR-mediated fast recruitment of EXO1 facilities early DNA end resection, the first step of homologous recombination repair. We observed that other PIN domains could also recognize DNA damage-induced PAR. Taken together, our study demonstrates a novel class of PAR-binding module that plays an important role in DNA damage response.