Spatial separation between replisome- and template-induced replication stress signaling.

Polymerase-blocking DNA lesions are thought to elicit a checkpoint response via accumulation of single-stranded DNA at stalled replication forks. However, as an alternative to persistent fork stalling, re-priming downstream of lesions can give rise to daughter-strand gaps behind replication forks. We show here that the processing of such structures by an exonuclease, Exo1, is required for timely checkpoint activation, which in turn prevents further gap erosion in S phase.

An expanded tool kit for the auxin-inducible degron system in budding yeast.

Fusion of inducible degradation signals, so-called degrons, to cellular proteins is an elegant method of controlling protein levels in vivo. Recently, a degron system relying on the plant hormone auxin has been described for use in yeast and vertebrate cells. We now report the construction of a series of vectors that significantly enhance the versatility of this auxin-inducible degron (AID) system in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

A role for CDK9 in UV damage response.

Comment on: Shchebet A, et al. Cell Cycle 2012; 2122-7