Fission yeast telomeres forecast the end of the crisis

Abstract 

Recent years have placed fission yeast at the forefront of telomere research, as this organism combines a high level of conservation with human telomeres and precise genetic manipulability. Here we highlight some of the latest knowledge of fission yeast telomere maintenance and dysfunction, and illustrate how principles arising from fission yeast research are raising novel questions about telomere plasticity and function in all eukaryotes.

Abbreviations: ATM, ataxia telangiectasia mutated (Tel1 in budding yeast), ATR, ATM and Rad3 Related, ChIP, chromatin immuno-precipitation, DDR, DNA damage response, DSB, double strand break, dsDNA, double stranded DNA, HR, homologous recombination, NHEJ, non-homologous end-joining, MRN, MRE11/RAD50/NBS1, OB-fold, oligonucleotide/oligosaccharide-fold, Polα and δ, DNA polymerase α and δ (lagging strand polymerases), Polε, DNA polymerase ε (leading strand polymerase), ssDNA, single stranded DNA, SSA, single strand annealing, STE, sub-telomeric-element, TPE, telomere position effect

Keywords: Telomere, Telomerase, DNA damage response, Fission yeast, Recombination, Survivor, Meiosis