RecA

• Description: multifunctional protein involved in homologous recombination and DNA repair (LexA-autocleavage), required to internalize and to recombine ssDNA with homologous resident duplex, required for efficient survival and replication restart after replication-transcription conflicts
  
  

Gene name	recA
Synonyms	recE
Essential	no
Product	multifunctional protein involved in homologous recombination and DNA repair (LexA-autocleavage)
Function	DNA repair/ recombination
Gene expression levels in SubtiExpress: recA
Interactions involving this protein in SubtInteract: RecA
MW, pI	37 kDa, 4.883
Gene length, protein length	1041 bp, 347 aa
Immediate neighbours	cinA, pbpX
Sequences	Protein DNA DNA_with_flanks
Genetic context This image was kindly provided by SubtiList
Expression at a glance   PubMed

Categories containing this gene/protein

DNA repair/ recombination, genetic competence, phosphoproteins, most abundant proteins

This gene is a member of the following regulons

ComK regulon, LexA regulon

The gene

Basic information

• Locus tag: BSU16940

Phenotypes of a mutant

• drastically reduced survival of mature dormant spores after exposure to ultrahigh vacuum desiccation and ionizing radiation that induce single strand (ss) DNA nicks and double-strand breaks (DSBs) PubMed

Database entries

• BsubCyc: BSU16940

• DBTBS entry: [1]

• SubtiList entry: [2]

Additional information

RecA filaments are dismantled from DNA by PcrA PubMed

The protein

Basic information/ Evolution

• Catalyzed reaction/ biological activity:
  • RecA stimulates ssDNA phosphorylase activity of PnpA PubMed
  • RecA-ATP in concert with DprA and SsbA catalyzes DNA strand exchange, with SsbB as an accessory factor PubMed
  • RecA-dATP catalyzes strand exchange even in the absence of the accessory factors PubMed

• Protein family: recA family (according to Swiss-Prot)

• Paralogous protein(s):

Extended information on the protein

• Kinetic information:

• Domains:

• Modification:
  • phosphorylated on Arg-58 PubMed
  • phosphorylated on Ser-2 PubMed by YabT PubMed

• Cofactors:

• Effectors of protein activity:
  • RecO and DprA provide RecA access to ssDNA during chromosomal transformation PubMed

• Interactions:
  • RecA-DprA PubMed
  • RecA-RecU PubMed
  • RecA-ComFA PubMed
  • SsbB-RecA PubMed
  • YabT-RecA PubMed

• Localization:
  • colocalizes to the replisome in response to endogenous and exogenous DNA damage and in response to damage-independent fork arrest (formation of DNA repair centers), repair center formation depends on RecO and RecR, and is facilitated by RecF and SsbA PubMed
  • Nucleoid (Mid-cell) PubMed
  • localizes to one cell pole PubMed
  • forms a transient, mobile focus associated with the chromosome during spore development PubMed

Database entries

• BsubCyc: BSU16940

• Structure: 1U94 (RecA from E. coli, 62% identity, 86% similarity)

• UniProt: P16971

• KEGG entry: [3]

• E.C. number:

Expression and regulation

• Operon: recA PubMed

• Expression browser: recA PubMed

• Sigma factor: SigA PubMed

• Regulation:
  • induced by DNA damage (LexA) PubMed
  • induced by conditions that trigger development of genetic competence (ComK) PubMed

• Regulatory mechanism:
  • LexA: transcription repression PubMed
  • ComK: transcription activation PubMed

• Additional information:
  • belongs to the 100 most abundant proteins PubMed
  • number of protein molecules per cell (minimal medium with glucose and ammonium): 417 PubMed
  • number of protein molecules per cell (complex medium with amino acids, without glucose): 1257 PubMed
  • number of protein molecules per cell (minimal medium with glucose and ammonium, exponential phase): 5143 PubMed
  • number of protein molecules per cell (minimal medium with glucose and ammonium, early stationary phase after glucose exhaustion): 3169 PubMed
  • number of protein molecules per cell (minimal medium with glucose and ammonium, late stationary phase after glucose exhaustion): 4953 PubMed

Biological materials

• Mutant:
  • IRN444 (cat), available in Jörg Stülke's lab
  • 1A746 (recA::erm), PubMed, available at BGSC
  • 1A786 (recA::kan), PubMed, available at BGSC
  • BP469 (recA::erm), available in Fabian Commichau's lab

• Expression vector: for expression, purification in E. coli with N-terminal His-tag, pRSETA available in Ulf Gerth's lab

• lacZ fusion:

• GFP fusion:

• two-hybrid system: B. pertussis adenylate cyclase-based bacterial two hybrid system (BACTH), available in Fabian Commichau's lab

• Antibody:

Labs working on this gene/protein

Peter Graumann, Freiburg University, Germany homepage

References

Reviews

Juan C Alonso, Paula P Cardenas, Humberto Sanchez, James Hejna, Yuki Suzuki, Kunio Takeyasu
Early steps of double-strand break repair in Bacillus subtilis.
DNA Repair (Amst): 2013, 12(3);162-76
[PubMed:23380520] [WorldCat.org] [DOI] (I p)

Dawit Kidane, Silvia Ayora, Joann B Sweasy, Peter L Graumann, Juan C Alonso
The cell pole: the site of cross talk between the DNA uptake and genetic recombination machinery.
Crit Rev Biochem Mol Biol: 2012, 47(6);531-55
[PubMed:23046409] [WorldCat.org] [DOI] (I p)

Justin S Lenhart, Jeremy W Schroeder, Brian W Walsh, Lyle A Simmons
DNA repair and genome maintenance in Bacillus subtilis.
Microbiol Mol Biol Rev: 2012, 76(3);530-64
[PubMed:22933559] [WorldCat.org] [DOI] (I p)

Silvia Ayora, Begoña Carrasco, Paula P Cárdenas, Carolina E César, Cristina Cañas, Tribhuwan Yadav, Chiara Marchisone, Juan C Alonso
Double-strand break repair in bacteria: a view from Bacillus subtilis.
FEMS Microbiol Rev: 2011, 35(6);1055-81
[PubMed:21517913] [WorldCat.org] [DOI] (I p)

Justin Courcelle, Philip C Hanawalt
RecA-dependent recovery of arrested DNA replication forks.
Annu Rev Genet: 2003, 37;611-46
[PubMed:14616075] [WorldCat.org] [DOI] (P p)

Michael M Cox
The bacterial RecA protein as a motor protein.
Annu Rev Microbiol: 2003, 57;551-77
[PubMed:14527291] [WorldCat.org] [DOI] (P p)

Shelley L Lusetti, Michael M Cox
The bacterial RecA protein and the recombinational DNA repair of stalled replication forks.
Annu Rev Biochem: 2002, 71;71-100
[PubMed:12045091] [WorldCat.org] [DOI] (P p)

M M Cox
Recombinational DNA repair in bacteria and the RecA protein.
Prog Nucleic Acid Res Mol Biol: 1999, 63;311-66
[PubMed:10506835] [WorldCat.org] [DOI] (P p)