The nucleus of a cell can be divided into functional compartments based on transcriptional activity and DNA replication. Nagai et al. reveal a physical connection between the nuclear periphery and processes of DNA damage and repair in budding yeast. Damaged DNA, specifically collapsed replication forks and persistent double-stranded breaks, is transferred to the nuclear pores, where nuclear pore components and other proteins facilitate recombinational repair.
S. Nagai, K. Dubrana, M. Tsai-Pflugfelder, M. B. Davidson, T. M. Roberts, G. W. Brown, E. Varela, F. Hediger, S. M. Gasser, N. J. Krogan, Functional targeting of DNA damage to a nuclear pore–associated SUMO-dependent ubiquitin ligase. Science 322, 597-602 (2008). [Abstract] [Full Text]
