Features of the DNA Escherichia coli RecN interaction revealed by fluorescence microscopy and single-molecule methods

Abstract The SOS response is a condition that occurs in bacterial cells after DNA damage. In this state, the bacterium is able to recover the integrity of its genome. Due to the increased level of mutagenesis in cells during the repair of DNA double-strand breaks, the SOS response is also an important mechanism for bacterial adaptation to the antibiotics. One of the key proteins of the SOS response is the SMC-like protein RecN, which helps the RecA recombinase to find a homologous DNA template for repair. In this work, the localization of the recombinant RecN protein in living Escherichia coli cells was revealed using fluorescence microscopy. It has been shown that the RecN, outside the SOS response, is predominantly localized at the poles of the cell, and in dividing cells, also localized at the center. Using in vitro methods including fluorescence microscopy and optical tweezers, we show that RecN predominantly binds single-stranded DNA in an ATP-dependent manner. RecN has both intrinsic and single-stranded DNA-stimulated ATPase activity. The results of this work may be useful for better understanding of the SOS response mechanism and homologous recombination process. HighlightsRecN increases E. coli recombination rateE. coli RecN has intrinsic and ssDNA-stimulated ATPase activityE. coli RecN binds preferentially to ssDNARecN does not associate with nucleoid in the absence of SOS response