Replication-independent instability of Friedreich's ataxia GAA repeats during chronological aging

Nearly 50 hereditary diseases result from the inheritance of abnormally long repetitive DNA microsatellites. While it was originally believed that the size of inherited repeats is the key factor in disease development, it has become clear that somatic instability of these repeats throughout an individual's lifetime strongly contributes to disease onset and progression. Importantly, somatic instability is commonly observed in terminally differentiated, postmitotic cells, such as neurons. To unravel the mechanisms of repeat instability in nondividing cells, we created an experimental system to analyze the mutability of Friedreich's ataxia (GAA)(n) repeats during chronological aging of quiescent Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Unexpectedly, we found that the predominant repeat-mediated mutation in nondividing cells is large-scale deletions encompassing parts, or the entirety, of the repeat and adjacent regions. These deletions are caused by breakage at the repeat mediated by mismatch repair (MMR) complexes MutS beta and MutL alpha and DNA endonuclease Rad1, followed by end-resection by Exo1 and repair of the resulting double-strand breaks (DSBs) via nonhomologous end joining. We also observed repeat-mediated gene conversions as a result of DSB repair via ectopic homologous recombination during chronological aging. Repeat expansions accrue during chronological aging as well-particularly in the absence of MMR-induced DSBs. These expansions depend on the processivity of DNA polymerase delta while being counteracted by Exo1 and MutS beta, implicating nick repair. Altogether, these findings show that the mechanisms and types of (GAA)(n) repeat instability differ dramatically between dividing and nondividing cells, suggesting that distinct repeat-mediated mutations in terminally differentiated somatic cells might influence Friedreich's ataxia pathogenesis.

Automated summary

Nearly 50 hereditary diseases are caused by abnormally long repetitive DNA microsatellites, and somatic instability throughout an individual's lifetime strongly contributes to disease onset. In nondividing cells, the predominant repeat-mediated mutation is large-scale deletions, which differ significantly from the repeat instability observed in dividing cells.