The N-terminus region of Drp1, a Rint1 family protein is essential for cell survival and its interaction with Rad50 protein in fission yeast S.pombe.

BACKGROUND:Defects in DNA repair pathway can lead to double-strand breaks leading to genomic instability. Earlier we have shown that S.pombe Drp1, a Rint1/Tip1 family protein is required for the recovery from DNA damage. METHODS:Various truncations of Drp1 protein were constructed and their role in DNA damage response and interaction with Rad50 protein has been studied by co-immunoprecipitation and pull-down assays. RESULTS:The structural and functional analysis of Drp1 protein revealed that the N-terminus region of Drp1 is indispensable for the survival. The C-terminus truncation mutants, drp1C1Δ and drp1C2Δ exhibit temperature sensitive phenotype and are hypersensitive against DNA damaging agents with elevated level of Rad52-YFP foci at non-permissive temperature indicating the impairment for DNA damage repair pathway. The essential N-terminus region of Drp1 interacts with the C-terminus region of Rad50 and might be involved in influencing the MRN/X function. Small-angle X-ray (SAXS) analysis revealed three-domain like shapes in Drp1 protein while the C-terminus region of Rad50 exhibit unusual bulges. Computational docking studies revealed the amino acid residues at the C-terminus region of Rad50 that are involved in the interaction with the residues present at the N-terminal region of Drp1 indicating the importance of the N-terminal region of Drp1 protein. CONCLUSIONS:We have identified the region of Drp1 and Rad50 proteins that are involved in the interaction and their role in the DNA damage response pathway has been analyzed. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE:The functional and structural aspects of fission yeast Drp1 protein and its interaction with Rad50 have been elucidated.

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