Structural insight into BRCA1-BARD1 complex recruitment to damaged chromatin.
Dai, L., Dai, Y., Han, J., Huang, Y., Wang, L., Huang, J., Zhou, Z.(2021) Mol Cell 81: 2765-2777.e6
- PubMed: 34102105 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2021.05.010
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
7E8I - PubMed Abstract: 
The BRCA1-BARD1 complex directs the DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair pathway choice to error-free homologous recombination (HR) during the S-G2 stages. Targeting BRCA1-BARD1 to DSB-proximal sites requires BARD1-mediated nucleosome interaction and histone mark recognition. Here, we report the cryo-EM structure of BARD1 bound to a ubiquitinated nucleosome core particle (NCP Ub ) at 3.1 Å resolution and illustrate how BARD1 simultaneously recognizes the DNA damage-induced mark H2AK15ub and DNA replication-associated mark H4K20me0 on the nucleosome. In vitro and in vivo analyses reveal that the BARD1-NCP Ub complex is stabilized by BARD1-nucleosome interaction, BARD1-ubiquitin interaction, and BARD1 ARD domain-BARD1 BRCT domain interaction, and abrogating these interactions is detrimental to HR activity. We further identify multiple disease-causing BARD1 mutations that disrupt BARD1-NCP Ub interactions and hence impair HR. Together, this study elucidates the mechanism of BRCA1-BARD1 complex recruitment and retention by DSB-flanking nucleosomes and sheds important light on cancer therapeutic avenues.
Organizational Affiliation: 
National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, CAS Center for Excellence in Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.