UV stalled replication forks restart by re-priming in human fibroblasts

• Restarting stalled replication forks is vital to avoid fatal replication errors. Previously, it was demonstrated that hydroxyurea-stalled replication forks use an active restart mechanism or rescue replication by new origin firing. Using the DNA fiber assay, we find to our surprise no evidence that UV-damaged replication forks are arrested and only detect a slightly reduced fork speed on a UV-damaged template. Interestingly, no evidence for UV-induced fork stalling was observed even in translesion synthesis defective, Polηmut cells. In contrast, using an assay to measure DNA molecule elongation at the fork, we observe that DNA elongation is severely blocked, particularly in UV-damaged Polηmut cells. In conclusion, these data suggest that UV-blocked replication forks restart effectively through re-priming. If left unfilled, the gap behind a re-primed fork may collapse into a DNA double-strand break that is repaired by a recombination pathway, similar to the fate of replication forks collapsed after hydroxyurea treatment.

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Molecular Genetics

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