Maria Spies

Mechanisms of fork stalling and reversal at pathogenic CANVAS (AAGGG)n repeats

This paper investigates how (AAGGG)n repeats in the RFC1 gene cause DNA replication fork stalling and reversal, implicating G4-DNA and SMARCAL1 in the process.

Base-pair scale dynamics of a repair helicase on DNA lesions reveal varied damage-sensing mechanisms

This study uses optical tweezers to analyze XPD helicase dynamics on DNA lesions, revealing distinct damage-sensing behaviors and identifying two XPD regions sensitive to DNA modifications.

The human RAD52 complex undergoes phase separation and facilitates bundling and end-to-end tethering of RAD51 presynaptic filaments

Single-molecule analysis of PARP1-G-quadruplex interaction

This study investigates PARP1's interaction with G-quadruplexes using single-molecule techniques, revealing dynamic 1:1 binding and PARylation activation.

Switch-like control of helicase processivity by single-stranded DNA binding protein

The paper investigates how the single-stranded DNA binding protein RPA2 modulates the processivity of the XPD helicase through a switch mechanism.

RPA complexes in Caenorhabditis elegans meiosis; unique roles in replication, meiotic recombination and apoptosis

This study identifies unique roles of RPA complexes in C. elegans meiosis, showing RPA-2 is essential for replication and repair, while RPA-4 inhibits RAD-51 and promotes apoptosis.