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Mol. Cell. Biol., May 1997, 2859-2865, Vol 17, No. 5
HT Tran, JD Keen, M Kricker, MA Resnick and DA Gordenin
Homonucleotide runs in coding sequences are hot spots for frameshift
mutations and potential sources of genetic changes leading to cancer in
humans having a mismatch repair defect. We examined frameshift mutations in
homonucleotide runs of deoxyadenosines ranging from 4 to 14 bases at the
same position in the LYS2 gene of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In
the msh2 mismatch repair mutant, runs of 9 to 14 deoxyadenosines are
1,700-fold to 51,000-fold, respectively, more mutable for single-nucleotide
deletions than are runs of 4 deoxyadenosines. These frameshift mutations
can account for up to 99% of all forward mutations inactivating the 4-kb
LYS2 gene. Based on results with single and double mutations of the POL2
and MSH2 genes, both DNA polymerase epsilon proofreading and mismatch
repair are efficient for short runs while only the mismatch repair system
prevents frameshift mutations in runs of > or = 8 nucleotides.
Therefore, coding sequences containing long homonucleotide runs are likely
to be at risk for mutational inactivation in cells lacking mismatch repair
capability.
Copyright © 1997, American Society for Microbiology
Hypermutability of homonucleotide runs in mismatch repair and DNA polymerase proofreading yeast mutants
Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, USA.
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