DNA interstrand cross-link repair requires replication fork convergence

Abstract

DNA interstrand cross-links (ICLs) prevent strand separation during DNA replication and transcription and are therefore extremely cytotoxic. In metazoans, a major pathway of ICL repair is coupled to DNA replication and requires the Fanconi anemia pathway. In most current models, collision of a single DNA replication fork with an ICL is sufficient to initiate repair. In contrast, we show here that in Xenopus egg extracts, two DNA replication forks must converge on an ICL to trigger repair. When only one fork reaches the ICL, the replicative CMG helicase fails to unload from the stalled fork, and repair is blocked. Arrival of a second fork, even when substantially delayed, rescues repair. We conclude that ICL repair requires a replication-induced X-shaped DNA structure surrounding the lesion, and we speculate how this requirement helps maintain genomic stability in S phase.