The repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) is tightly regulated during the cell cycle. In G1 phase, the absence of a sister chromatid means that repair of DSB occurs through non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) or microhomology-mediated end-joining (MMEJ)1. These pathways often involve loss of DNA sequences at the break site and are therefore error-prone. In late S and G2 phases, even though DNA end-joining pathways remain functional2, there is an increase in repair of DSB by homologous recombination (HR), which is mostly error-free3,4. Consequently, the relative contribution of these different pathways to DSB repair in the cell cycle has a profound influence on the maintenance of genetic integrity. How then are DSB directed for repair by different, potentially competing, repair pathways? Here we identify a role for CtIP in this process in DT40. We establish that CtIP is not only required for repair of DSB by HR in S/G2 phase, but also for MMEJ in G1. The function of CtIP in HR, but not MMEJ, is dependent on the phosphorylation of serine residue 327 and recruitment of BRCA1. Cells expressing CtIP protein that cannot be phosphorylated at serine 327 are specifically defective in HR and exhibit decreased level of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) after DNA damage, while MMEJ remains unaffected. Our data support a model in which phosphorylation of serine 327 of CtIP as cells enter S-phase and the recruitment of BRCA1 functions as a molecular switch to shift the balance of DSB repair from error-prone DNA end-joining to error-free homologous recombination (Supplementary Fig. 1).

The protein predicted to be defective in individuals with Fanconi anemia complementation group J (FA-J), FANCJ, is a missing component in the Fanconi anemia pathway of genome maintenance. Here we identify pathogenic mutations in eight individuals with FA-J in the gene encoding the DEAH-box DNA helicase BRIP1, also called FANCJ. This finding is compelling evidence that the Fanconi anemia pathway functions through a direct physical interaction with DNA.

Fanconi anemia (FA) is a heritable human cancer-susceptibility disorder, delineating a genetically heterogenous pathway for the repair of replication-blocking lesions such as interstrand DNA cross-links. Here we demonstrate that one component of this pathway, FANCJ, is a structure-specific DNA helicase that dissociates guanine quadruplex DNA (G4 DNA) in vitro. Moreover, in contrast with previously identified G4 DNA helicases, such as the Bloom's helicase (BLM), FANCJ unwinds G4 substrates with 5-3 polarity. In the FA-J human patient cell line EUFA0030 the loss of FANCJ G4 unwinding function correlates with the accumulation of large genomic deletions in the vicinity of sequences, which match the G4 DNA signature. Together these findings support a role for FANCJ in the maintenance of potentially unstable genomic G/C tracts during replication.

The 12/23 rule requires that V(D)J recombination only occurs between recombination signals with 12 and 23 base pair spacers. We show that the 12/23 rule is established prior to DNA cleavage, by the formation of a synaptic complex containing both 12-spacer and 23-spacer signals. The RAG1 and RAG2 proteins, as well as the DNA bending protein HMG1, are needed for efficient formation of this complex. We show further that the synaptic complex is the functional complex for coupled cleavage. After cleavage, all four broken DNA ends remain associated with the RAG proteins in a postcleavage synaptic complex, whose existence helps to explain the known role of RAG1 and RAG2 in the subsequent end-joining events that complete V(D)J recombination.