DNA double strand break repair pathway choice: a chromatin based decision?

DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are highly toxic lesions that can be rapidly repaired by 2 main pathways, namely Homologous Recombination (HR) and Non Homologous End Joining (NHEJ). The choice between these pathways is a critical, yet not completely understood, aspect of DSB repair. We recently found that distinct DSBs induced across the genome are not repaired by the same pathway. Indeed, DSBs induced in active genes, naturally enriched in the trimethyl form of histone H3 lysine 36 (H3K36me3), are channeled to repair by HR, in a manner depending on SETD2, the major H3K36 trimethyltransferase. Here, we propose that these findings may be generalized to other types of histone modifications and repair machineries thus defining a DSB repair choice histone code. This decision making function of preexisting chromatin structure in DSB repair could connect the repair pathway used to the type and function of the damaged region, not only contributing to genome stability but also to its diversity.