DNA Repair Mechanisms in the Parasite Encephalitozoon cuniculi
Author Information
Author(s): Gill Erin E, Fast Naomi M
Primary Institution: Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Hypothesis
How has genome reduction affected the DNA repair pathways in Encephalitozoon cuniculi?
Conclusion
E. cuniculi has lost many DNA repair genes, particularly in double strand break repair pathways, which may lead to inefficient DNA damage repair.
Supporting Evidence
- E. cuniculi lacks 16 of the 56 DNA repair genes sought.
- Six of 14 DNA polymerases or polymerase subunits are absent in E. cuniculi.
- All specialized repair polymerases are also absent.
Takeaway
E. cuniculi, a tiny parasite, has lost many of the tools it needs to fix its DNA, which could make it more prone to mistakes.
Methodology
Comparison of DNA repair proteins in E. cuniculi to those in Saccharomyces cerevisiae using BLASTP and PSI-BLAST searches.
Limitations
The presence or absence of some proteins was not confirmed, and the study may not have identified highly divergent proteins.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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