This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 14/5/1121    most recent tpc.001727v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (30) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Siebert, R. Articles by Puchta, H. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Siebert, R. Articles by Puchta, H. Agricola Articles by Siebert, R. Articles by Puchta, H.

Efficient Repair of Genomic Double-Strand Breaks by Homologous Recombination between Directly Repeated Sequences in the Plant Genome

Institut für Pflanzengenetik und Kulturpflanzenforschung, Corrensstrasse 3, D-06466 Gatersleben, Germany

¹ To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail puchta{at}ipk-gatersleben.de; fax 49-39482-5137

Previous studies demonstrated that in somatic plant cells, homologous recombination (HR) is several orders of magnitude less efficient than nonhomologous end joining and that HR is little used for genomic double-strand break (DSB) repair. Here, we provide evidence that if genomic DSBs are induced in close proximity to homologous repeats, they can be repaired in up to one-third of cases by HR in transgenic tobacco. Our findings are relevant for the evolution of plant genomes because they indicate that sequences containing direct repeats such as retroelements might be less stable in plants that harbor active mobile elements than anticipated previously. Furthermore, our experimental setup enabled us to demonstrate that transgenic sequences flanked by sites of a rare cutting restriction enzyme can be excised efficiently from the genome of a higher eukaryote by HR as well as by nonhomologous end joining. This makes DSB-induced recombination an attractive alternative to the currently applied sequence-specific recombination systems used for genome manipulations, such as marker gene excision.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Pacher, W. Schmidt-Puchta, and H. Puchta Two Unlinked Double-Strand Breaks Can Induce Reciprocal Exchanges in Plant Genomes via Homologous Recombination and Nonhomologous End Joining Genetics, January 1, 2007; 175(1): 21 - 29. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Lloyd, C. L. Plaisier, D. Carroll, and G. N. Drews Targeted mutagenesis using zinc-finger nucleases in Arabidopsis PNAS, February 8, 2005; 102(6): 2232 - 2237. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Puchta The repair of double-strand breaks in plants: mechanisms and consequences for genome evolution J. Exp. Bot., January 1, 2005; 56(409): 1 - 14. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Molinier, G. Ries, S. Bonhoeffer, and B. Hohn Interchromatid and Interhomolog Recombination in Arabidopsis thaliana PLANT CELL, February 1, 2004; 16(2): 342 - 352. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]