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Nucleic Acids Research, 2002, Vol. 30, No. 18 3919-3926
© 2002 Oxford University Press

Expression of the human DNA glycosylase hSMUG1 in Trypanosoma brucei causes DNA damage and interferes with J biosynthesis

Sebastian Ulbert, Mike Cross, Robert J. Boorstein1, George W. Teebor1 and Piet Borst*

Department of Molecular Biology and Center of Biomedical Genetics, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Plesmanlaan 121, 1066 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands and 1 Department of Pathology and Kaplan Cancer Center, New York University Medical Center, NY 10016, USA

*To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +31 20 512 2880; Fax: +31 20 669 1383; Email: p.borst{at}nki.nl

In kinetoplastid flagellates such as Trypanosoma brucei, a small percentage of the thymine residues in the nuclear DNA is replaced by the modified base ß-D-glucosyl-hydroxymethyluracil (J), mostly in repetitive sequences like the telomeric GGGTTA repeats. In addition, traces of 5-hydroxymethyluracil (HOMeUra) are present. Previous work has suggested that J is synthesised in two steps via HOMedU as an intermediate, but as J synthesising enzymes have not yet been identified, the biosynthetic pathway remains unclear. To test a model in which HOMeUra functions as a precursor of J, we introduced an inducible gene for the human DNA glycosylase hSMUG1 into bloodstream form T.brucei. In higher eukaryotes SMUG1 excises HOMeUra as part of the base excision repair system. We show that expression of the gene in T.brucei leads to massive DNA damage in J-modified sequences and results in cell cycle arrest and, eventually, death. hSMUG1 also reduces the J content of the trypanosome DNA. This work supports the idea that HOMeUra is a precursor of J, freely accessible to a DNA glycosylase.


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