@article{e33196f32605495cb0b8eab52c5eea8c,
title = "The RAG1/RAG2 complex constitutes a 3' flap endonuclease: Implications for junctional diversity in V(D)J and transpositional recombination",
abstract = "During V(D)J recombination, processing of branched coding end intermediates is essential for generating junctional diversity. Here, we report that the RAG1/RAG2 recombinase is a 3' flap endonuclease. Substrates of this nuclease activity include various coding end intermediates, suggesting a direct role for RAG1/RAG2 in generating junctional diversity during V(D)J recombination. Evidence is also provided indicating that site-specific RSS nicking involves RAG1/RAG2-mediated processing of a localized flap-like structure, implying 3' flap nicking in multiple DNA processing reactions. We have also demonstrated that the bacterial transposase Tn10 contains a 3' flap endonuclease activity, suggesting a mechanistic parallel between RAG1/RAG2 and other transposases. Based on these data, we propose that numerous transposases may facilitate genomic evolution by removing single-stranded extensions during the processing of excision site junctions.",
author = "Sandro Santagata and Eva Besmer and Anna Villa and Fabio Bozzi and Allingham, {John S.} and Cristina Sobacchi and Haniford, {David B.} and Paolo Vezzoni and Nussenzweig, {Michel C.} and Pan, {Zhen Qiang} and Patricia Cortes",
note = "Funding Information: This paper is dedicated to the memory of Eugenia Spanopoulou and Andrew Hodtsev. S. S. is grateful to Stuart Aaronson for guidance and support. We thank Dario Strina for his dedicated work in identifying OS and SCID alleles, members of the Cortes lab for valuable discussions, Larry Shapiro, Juan Carcamo, and Jorge Mansilla-Soto for critical reading of the manuscript and Jose Trincao for his kind help. S. S. is supported by DOA/DOD Breast Cancer Predoctoral Training grant DAMD 1794-J-4111 and NIH Grant AI40191 and Cancer Research Institute Investigator Award to Z-Q. P. P. C. is supported by grants from the Arthritis Foundation and the NIH (GM45996) and D. B. H. from grants from the Medical Research Council of Canada. M. N. is supported by the NIH and is an associate investigator of the HHMI. This work was partially supported by a Telethon grant (E 917) to A. V. and is part of a Genome Project funded by Cariplo (38), Italy.",
year = "1999",
month = dec,
doi = "10.1016/S1097-2765(00)80223-3",
language = "English",
volume = "4",
pages = "935--947",
journal = "Molecular Cell",
issn = "1097-2765",
publisher = "Cell Press",
number = "6",
}