Study proposes new theory of how viruses may contribute to cancer

davis submitted, created time 1 year 2 months (www.eurekalert.org)

A study published in the Oct. 24 issue of PLoS ONE suggests that viruses may contribute to cancer by causing excessive death to normal cells while promoting the growth of surviving cells with cancerous traits. The University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute researchers suggest that viruses may act as forces of natural selection by wiping out normal cells that support the replication of viruses, leaving behind those cells that have acquired defects in their circuitry.

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Tipin is required for stalled replication forks to resume DNA replication after removal of aphidicolin in Xenopus egg extracts

stephen submitted, created time 1 year 3 months (www.pnas.org)

Tipin and its interacting partner Tim1 (Timeless) form a complex at replication forks that plays an important role in the DNA damage checkpoint response.

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The impact of chromatin modifiers on the timing of locus replication in mouse ES cells

jiangyun submitted, created time 1 year 4 months (genomebiology.com)

The time of locus replication during S-phase is tightly regulated and correlates with chromatin state. Embryonic stem (ES) cells have an unusual chromatin profile where many developmental regulator genes, that are not yet expressed, are marked by both active and repressive histone modifications. This poised or bivalent state is also characterized by locus replication in early S-phase in ES cells, while replication timing is delayed in cells with restricted developmental options.

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Discovery of tMAC: a Drosophila testis-specific meiotic arrest complex paralogous to Myb–Muv B

alpha submitted, created time 1 year 8 months (www.genesdev.org)

"The Drosophila Myb–Muv B (MMB)/dREAM complex regulates gene expression and DNA replication site-specifically, but its activities in vivo have not been thoroughly explored. In ovarian amplification-stage follicle cell nuclei, the largest subunit, Mip130, is a negative regulator of replication, whereas another subunit, Myb, is a positive regulator. Here, we identified a mutation in mip40 and generated a mutation in mip120, two additional MMB subunits. Both mutants were viable, but mip120 mutants had many complex phenotypes including shortened longevity and severe eye defects."

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Epstein-Barr virus and virus human protein interaction maps

diggman submitted, created time 1 year 8 months (www.pnas.org)

A comprehensive mapping of interactions among Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) proteins and interactions of EBV proteins with human proteins should provide specific hypotheses and a broad perspective on EBV strategies for replication and persistence. Interactions of EBV proteins with each other and with human proteins were assessed by using a stringent high-throughput yeast two-hybrid system. Overall, 43 interactions between EBV proteins and 173 interactions between EBV and human proteins were identified

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Early Replication of Short Telomeres in Budding Yeast

Cindy submitted, created time 1 year 9 months (www.cell.com)

“The maintenance of an appropriate number of telomere repeats by telomerase is essential for proper chromosome protection. The action of telomerase at the telomere terminus is regulated by opposing activities that either recruit/activate the enzyme at shorter telomeres or inhibit it at longer ones, thus achieving a stable average telomere length. To elucidate the mechanistic details of telomerase regulation we engineered specific chromosome ends in yeast so that a single telomere could be suddenly shortened and, as a consequence of its reduced length, elongated by telomerase

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