DNA2 enables growth by restricting recombination-restarted replication

Nuclease-helicase DNA2 is a multifunctional genome caretaker that is essential for cell proliferation in a range of organisms, from yeast to human^1-4. Bi-allelic DNA2 mutations that reduce DNA2 concentrations cause a spectrum of primordial dwarfism disorders, including Seckel and Rothmund-Thomson-related syndromes^5-7. By contrast, cancer cells frequently express high concentrations of DNA2 (refs. ^8-11). The mechanism that precludes cell proliferation in the absence of DNA2 and the molecular aetiology of DNA2-linked diseases remain elusive. Here we used yeast and human cells to demonstrate that DNA2 suppresses homologous recombination-restarted replication and checkpoint activation at stalled DNA replication forks. Loss of this control mechanism upon degradation of DNA2 in human cells causes recombination-dependent DNA synthesis and build-up of RPA-bound single-stranded DNA in the G2 phase of the cell cycle. Consequently, DNA2 deprivation triggers the DNA damage checkpoint and invariably leads to ATR-p21-dependent cell-cycle exit before mitosis. These findings explain why DNA2 is essential for cell proliferation and reveal that replication fork processing to restrict recombination is indispensable for avoiding cellular senescence. Stochastic entry into senescence stifles the proliferative potential of cells following the expression of a Seckel syndrome patient-derived DNA2 hypomorph or partial degradation of DNA2, providing a conceptual framework to explain global growth failure in DNA2-linked primordial dwarfism disorders.