The paper develops hypercleavage TOP2 mutants in yeast, human, and mouse to study TOP2-mediated DNA damage and toxicity, showing their utility in genetic screens and in vivo models.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · Sep 1, 2026Peer-reviewedGenetics

Strand asymmetry in the repair of replication dependent double-strand breaks

Michael T. Kimble, Aakanksha Sane, Robert J. D. Reid, Matthew J. Johnson, Rodney J. Rothstein, Lorraine S. Symington

The paper investigates the repair mechanism of replication-dependent double-strand breaks in budding yeast using nCas9-induced nicks and identifies the role of homologous recombination and replication-coupled nucleosome assembly.

Molecular Cell · Dec 3, 2024Peer-reviewedGenetics

Xrs2 and Tel1 independently contribute to MR-mediated DNA tethering and replisome stability

Julyun Oh, So Jung Lee, Rodney J. Rothstein, Lorraine S. Symington

This study shows Xrs2 and Tel1 independently contribute to MR-mediated DNA tethering and replisome stability in yeast, with Tel1 stabilizing Mre11-DNA association and rescuing DNA damage resistance.

Cell Reports · Nov 1, 2018Peer-reviewedGenetics