Tus-Ter as a tool to study site-specific DNA replication perturbation in eukaryotes

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The high-affinity binding of the Tus protein to specific 21-bp sequences, called Ter, causes site-specific, and polar, DNA replication fork arrest in E coli. The Tus-Ter complex serves to coordinate DNA replication with chromosome segregation in this organism. A number of recent and ongoing studies have demonstrated that Tus-Ter can be used as a heterologous tool to generate site-specific perturbation of DNA replication when reconstituted in eukaryotes. Here, we review these recent findings and explore the molecular mechanism by which Tus-Ter mediates replication fork (RF) arrest in the budding yeast, S. cerevisiae. We propose that Tus-Ter is a versatile, genetically tractable, and regulatable RF blocking system that can be utilized for disrupting DNA replication in a diverse range of host cells.

Original languageEnglish
JournalCell Cycle
Volume13
Issue number19
Pages (from-to)2994-8
Number of pages5
ISSN1538-4101
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Oct 2014

ID: 129809936