BRCA1/BARD1 orthologs required for DNA repair in Caenorhabditis elegans

Inherited germline mutations in the tumor suppressor gene BRCA1 predispose individuals to early onset breast and ovarian cancer [1]. BRCA1 together with its structurally related partner BARD1 is required for homologous recombination and DNA double-strand break repair, but how they perform these functions remains elusive [2, 3]. As part of a comprehensive search for DNA repair genes in C. elegans, we identified a BARD1 ortholog. In protein interaction screens, Ce-BRD-1 was found to interact with components of the sumoylation pathway, the TACC domain protein TAC-1, and most importantly, a homolog of mammalian BRCA1. We show that animals depleted for either Ce-brc-1 or Ce-brd-1 display similar abnormalities, including a high incidence of males, elevated levels of p53-dependent germ cell death before and after irradiation, and impaired progeny survival and chromosome fragmentation after irradiation. Furthermore, depletion of ubc-9 and tac-1 leads to radiation sensitivity and a high incidence of males, respectively, potentially linking these genes to the C. elegans BRCA1 pathway. Our findings support a shared role for Ce-BRC-1 and Ce-BRD-1 in C. elegans DNA repair processes, and this role will permit studies of the BRCA1 pathway in an organism amenable to rapid genetic and biochemical analysis.