Exo1 roles for repair of DNA double-strand breaks and meiotic crossing over in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The MRE11, RAD50, and XRS2 genes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae are involved in the repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) produced by ionizing radiation and by radiomimetic chemicals such as methyl methanesulfonate (MMS). In these mutants, single-strand DNA degradation in a 5' to 3' direction from DSB ends is reduced. Multiple copies of the EXO1 gene, encoding a 5' to 3' double-strand DNA exonuclease, were found to suppress the high MMS sensitivity of these mutants. The exo1. single mutant shows weak MMS sensitivity. When an exo1 mutation is combined with an mre11 mutation, both repair of MMS-induced damage and processing of DSBs are more severely reduced than in either single mutant, suggesting that Exo1 and Mre11 function independently in DSB processing. During meiosis, transcription of the EXO1 gene is highly induced. In meiotic cells, the exo1 mutation reduces the processing of DSBs and the frequency of crossing over, but not the frequency of gene conversion. These results suggest that Exo1 functions in the processing of DSB ends and in meiotic crossing over.