Global chromatin mobility induced by a DSB is dictated by chromosomal conformation and defines the HR outcome.

Repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) is crucial for genome integrity. A conserved response to DSBs is an increase in chromatin mobility that can be local, at the site of the DSB, or global, at undamaged regions of the genome. Here, we address the function of global chromatin mobility during homologous recombination (HR) of a single, targeted, controlled DSB.

Chromatin stiffening underlies enhanced locus mobility after DNA damage in budding yeast.

DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) induce a cellular response that involves histone modifications and chromatin remodeling at the damaged site and increases chromosome dynamics both locally at the damaged site and globally in the nucleus. In parallel, it has become clear that the spatial organization and dynamics of chromosomes can be largely explained by the statistical properties of tethered, but randomly moving, polymer chains, characterized mainly by their rigidity and compaction. How these properties of chromatin are affected during DNA damage remains, however, unclear.