CHROMATIN ASSEMBLY COUPLED TO DNA-REPAIR - A NEW ROLE FOR CHROMATIN ASSEMBLY FACTOR-I

DNA repair in the eukaryotic cell disrupts local chromatin organizatio n. To investigate whether the resetting of nucleosomal arrays can be l inked to the repair process, we developed model systems, with both Xen opus egg extract and human cell extracts, to follow repair and chromat in assembly in parallel on circular DNA templates. Both systems were a ble to carry out nucleotide excision repair of DNA lesions. We observe d that UV-dependent DNA synthesis occurs simultaneously with chromatin assembly, strongly indicating a mechanistic coupling between the two processes. A complementation assay established that chromatin assembly factor I (CAF1) is necessary for this repair-associated chromatin for mation.