{"title":"p53 keeps a transcription–replication balance that prevents chromothripsis","authors":"Diana S. M. Ottoz","doi":"10.1038/s41580-026-01031-6","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41580-026-01031-6","url":null,"abstract":"p53 loss induces global increase of transcription that causes nucleotide shortage and replication stress, thereby driving formation of DNA double-strand breaks and chromothripsis.","PeriodicalId":19051,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology","volume":"27 11","pages":"802-802"},"PeriodicalIF":118.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149075272","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Michelle L Swift, Cody M Rogers, Hardeep Kaur, Dipanjan Chowdhury, Patrick Sung
{"title":"Mechanisms and disease relevance of DNA break repair pathway choice.","authors":"Michelle L Swift, Cody M Rogers, Hardeep Kaur, Dipanjan Chowdhury, Patrick Sung","doi":"10.1038/s41580-026-01026-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41580-026-01026-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Understanding what drives the choice between homologous recombination (HR) and non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) as the DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair pathway can help to elucidate mechanisms of genome repair and acquired drug resistance in cancer cells. This choice is intimately linked with a highly regulated process of DNA end resection, mediated by several nuclease entities. Concerted efforts by many laboratories have identified several factors involved in DNA end resection, but we are only beginning to appreciate the mechanisms that underpin DSB repair pathway choice. In this Review, we highlight how DSB repair factors, DSB repair regulators and chromatin modifications determine whether HR or NHEJ is engaged as the repair pathway, with a focus on the antagonistic roles of the tumour suppressor complex BRCA1-BARD1 and the 53BP1 axis in repair pathway choice. How RNA-DNA hybrids affect HR execution and how they are processed by helicases and HR factors is also discussed. Moreover, we describe how dysfunction in repair pathway choice affects tumorigenesis and drives chemotherapeutic resistance.</p>","PeriodicalId":19051,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":118.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149002160","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Arnaud R. Krebs, Nicolas Altemose, L. Stirling Churchman, William J. Greenleaf, Vijay Ramani, Michael B. Stadler, Andrew B. Stergachis
{"title":"A practical guide to studying genome function using single-molecule genomics","authors":"Arnaud R. Krebs, Nicolas Altemose, L. Stirling Churchman, William J. Greenleaf, Vijay Ramani, Michael B. Stadler, Andrew B. Stergachis","doi":"10.1038/s41580-026-01017-4","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41580-026-01017-4","url":null,"abstract":"Single-molecule genomics (SMG) has transformed our ability to study the mechanisms that regulate the genome by enabling profiling of the activity of regulatory factors on individual DNA molecules genome-wide. SMG is able to quantify molecular heterogeneity and the co-occurrence of regulatory events, including epigenetic modifications, transcription factor binding and chromatin organization on single DNA molecules. SMG reveals dynamics of chromatin interactions that cannot be measured by conventional genomics assays. Therefore, SMG offers a unique platform to study how regulatory events combine to control genome activity. In this Expert Recommendation article, we provide a practical guide for adopting SMG and outline best practices. Single-molecule genomics methods are used to study the activity of regulatory factors on individual DNA molecules genome-wide, thereby enabling quantification of molecular heterogeneity and co-occurrence of regulatory events. This Expert Recommendation article provides a practical guide for adopting single-molecule genomics and outlines best practices.","PeriodicalId":19051,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology","volume":"27 11","pages":"839-854"},"PeriodicalIF":118.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148970388","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The molecular basis of transcription initiation by RNA polymerase II.","authors":"Xizi Chen, Yanhui Xu","doi":"10.1038/s41580-026-01019-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41580-026-01019-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Transcription initiation in eukaryotes is a major regulatory checkpoint for ensuring that genes are precisely activated. Although the basic components of the transcription machinery were identified decades ago, recent breakthroughs in high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy have transformed our understanding of how these massive complexes function as dynamic assemblies rather than as static entities. In this Review, we focus on transcription by RNA polymerase II (Pol II) and discuss the integrated roles of the universal promoter scaffold factor TFIID, the transcription co-activator Mediator and the epigenetic status of the +1 nucleosome. We first discuss the structural basis of TFIID-mediated recognition of the core promoter and the modular assembly of the pre-initiation complex and pre-initiation complex-Mediator, which involves phosphorylation of the Pol II C-terminal domain. We then discuss how the chromatin environment regulates selection of the transcription start site and transcription directionality, before turning to the progression from transcription initiation to elongation, including promoter opening and promoter escape. Finally, we discuss transcription initiation as a programmed process, in which inhibitory factors are released and regulatory factors are progressively exchanged through competition for binding surfaces.</p>","PeriodicalId":19051,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":118.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148892027","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}