Skip Navigation


Nucleic Acids Research Advance Access originally published online on August 25, 2006
Nucleic Acids Research 2006 34(15):4147-4153; doi:10.1093/nar/gkl561
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow Print PDF (426K) Freely available
Right arrow Screen PDF (183K) Freely available
Right arrowOA All Versions of this Article:
34/15/4147    most recent
gkl561v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (26)
Right arrow Commercial Re-use Guidelines
for Open Access NAR Content
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Boulé, J.-B.
Right arrow Articles by Zakian, V. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Boulé, J.-B.
Right arrow Articles by Zakian, V. A.
Social Bookmarking
 Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Nucleic Acids Research, 2006, Vol. 34, No. 15 4147-4153
© 2006 The Author(s)
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.


Survey and Summary

Roles of Pif1-like helicases in the maintenance of genomic stability

Jean-Baptiste Boulé* and Virginia A. Zakian

Department of Molecular Biology, Lewis Thomas Laboratories, Princeton University Princeton, NJ 08544, USA

*To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +1 609 258 2723; Fax: +1 609 258 1701; Email: jboule{at}princeton.edu

Received May 2, 2006. Revised July 13, 2006. Accepted July 19, 2006.

The Pif1p family of DNA helicases is conserved from yeast to humans. To date, four members of this family have been analyzed in some detail by in vitro and in vivo assays: the two baker's yeast helicases, ScPif1p and Rrm3p, the fission yeast Pfh1p and the human enzyme hPif1p. In vitro, these enzymes are 5' to 3' DNA helicase and show little processivity. In vivo, ScPif1p, Rrm3p and probably Pfh1p, function in both the nucleus at specific genomic loci and in mitochondria, where they are needed for the stable maintenance of the genome as accessory helicases to the replication machinery. Interestingly, they act on common DNA substrates but appear to have largely non-overlapping cellular functions, ranging from Okazaki fragment processing, telomerase inhibition, to helping the replication fork progress through non-nucleosomal protein–DNA complexes. For example, both ScPif1p and Rrm3p affect the replication of telomeres, but in a different way: Pif1p inhibits telomerase-mediated telomere elongation by directly removing telomerase from a DNA end, whereas Rrm3p facilitates replication through telomeric DNA. Here we review the current knowledge on the Pif1-like helicases, as a first step towards understanding the basis of their functional specialization and mechanism of action.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
GeneticsHome page
M. Chang, B. Luke, C. Kraft, Z. Li, M. Peter, J. Lingner, and R. Rothstein
Telomerase Is Essential to Alleviate Pif1-Induced Replication Stress at Telomeres
Genetics, November 1, 2009; 183(3): 779 - 791.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Biol. Chem.Home page
J. E. Pike, P. M. J. Burgers, J. L. Campbell, and R. A. Bambara
Pif1 Helicase Lengthens Some Okazaki Fragment Flaps Necessitating Dna2 Nuclease/Helicase Action in the Two-nuclease Processing Pathway
J. Biol. Chem., September 11, 2009; 284(37): 25170 - 25180.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
GeneticsHome page
R. Stamenova, P. H. Maxwell, A. E. Kenny, and M. J. Curcio
Rrm3 Protects the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Genome From Instability at Nascent Sites of Retrotransposition
Genetics, July 1, 2009; 182(3): 711 - 723.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Biol. Chem.Home page
P. M. J. Burgers
Polymerase Dynamics at the Eukaryotic DNA Replication Fork
J. Biol. Chem., February 13, 2009; 284(7): 4041 - 4045.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Biol. Chem.Home page
C. M. Stith, J. Sterling, M. A. Resnick, D. A. Gordenin, and P. M. Burgers
Flexibility of Eukaryotic Okazaki Fragment Maturation through Regulated Strand Displacement Synthesis
J. Biol. Chem., December 5, 2008; 283(49): 34129 - 34140.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Mol. Cell. Biol.Home page
S. F. Pinter, S. D. Aubert, and V. A. Zakian
The Schizosaccharomyces pombe Pfh1p DNA Helicase Is Essential for the Maintenance of Nuclear and Mitochondrial DNA
Mol. Cell. Biol., November 1, 2008; 28(21): 6594 - 6608.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Biol. Chem.Home page
M. L. Rossi, J. E. Pike, W. Wang, P. M. J. Burgers, J. L. Campbell, and R. A. Bambara
Pif1 Helicase Directs Eukaryotic Okazaki Fragments toward the Two-nuclease Cleavage Pathway for Primer Removal
J. Biol. Chem., October 10, 2008; 283(41): 27483 - 27493.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
GeneticsHome page
T. Ohya, H. Arai, Y. Kubota, H. Shinagawa, and T. Hishida
A SUMO-Like Domain Protein, Esc2, Is Required for Genome Integrity and Sister Chromatid Cohesion in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Genetics, September 1, 2008; 180(1): 41 - 50.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
JCBHome page
L. M. Pirzio, P. Pichierri, M. Bignami, and A. Franchitto
Werner syndrome helicase activity is essential in maintaining fragile site stability
J. Cell Biol., January 28, 2008; 180(2): 305 - 314.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
DNA ResHome page
T. Eki, T. Ishihara, I. Katsura, and F. Hanaoka
A Genome-wide Survey and Systematic RNAi-based Characterization of Helicase-like Genes in Caenorhabditis elegans
DNA Res, October 6, 2007; (2007) dsm016v1.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Nucleic Acids ResHome page
J.-B. Boule and V. A. Zakian
The yeast Pif1p DNA helicase preferentially unwinds RNA DNA substrates
Nucleic Acids Res., September 27, 2007; 35(17): 5809 - 5818.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
E. J. Pritham and C. Feschotte
Massive amplification of rolling-circle transposons in the lineage of the bat Myotis lucifugus
PNAS, February 6, 2007; 104(6): 1895 - 1900.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]



Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.