Participating Faculty
Michael Smerdon

Professor
School of Molecular Biosciences
Washington State University
Pullman, WA 99164-4660

Ph.D., 1976, Biochemistry/Biophysics
Oregon State University

Phone: 509-335-6853
Fax: 509-335-9688
Email: smerdon@mail.wsu.edu

 

Research Interests:
Molecular details of DNA repair.

Research Summary:
Our broad objective is to understand the molecular details of DNA repair and its surveillance of DNA in chromatin to resist mutations in eukaryotic cells. Such changes are an important etiological factor in cell survival and cancer in humans. DNA lesions can result from a wide variety of environmental agents, such as ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Since repair of the majority of these lesions occurs via excision repair, UV photoproducts and methylated bases (and uracil) are currently being used as prototype DNA lesions for our studies of nucleotide and base excision repair in chromatin, respectively. Using these modes of DNA damage, we are examining the relationship between DNA repair, gene transcription and chromatin structure in mammalian cells, yeast and cell extracts. Our "multifaceted" approach has provided insights into the cell's defense mechanism for resisting transformation by carcinogens.

Representative Publications:

Kosmoski, J. V., Ackerman, E. J. and Smerdon, M. J. DNA Repair of a Single UV Photo-product in a Designed Nucleosome, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 98,10113-10118, 2001.

Conconi, A., Bespalov, V. A. and Smerdon, M. J. Transcription Coupled Repair in RNA Polymerase I Transcribed Genes of Yeast, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 99, 649-654, 2002.

Li, S. and Smerdon, M. J. Yeast RNA polymerase II Subunits Mediate Subpathways of Transcription Coupled DNA Repair, EMBO J. 21, 5921-5929, 2002.

Beard, B. C., Wilson, S. H. and Smerdon, M. J. Catalytic Activity of Base Excision Repair Enzymes on Rotationally Positioned Uracil in Nucleosomes, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 100, 7465-7470, 2003.

Kwon, Y.H. and Smerdon, M. J. Binding of Zinc Finger Protein TFIIIA to its Cognate DNA Sequence with Single UV Photoproducts at Specific Sites and its Effect on DNA Repair, J. Biol. Chem. 278, 45451-45459, 2003.

Li, S. and Smerdon, M. J. Dissecting transcription coupled and global genomic repair in the chromatin of yeast GAL1-10 genes. J. Biol. Chem. 279:14418-14426, 2004.

Beard, B. C., Stevenson , J. J., Wilson, S. H. and Smerdon, M. J. Base Excision Repair In Nucleosomes Lacking Histone Tails, DNA Repair 4:203-209, 2005.

Gong F, Kwon Y, Smerdon MJ. (2005) Nucleotide excision repair in chromatin and the right of entry. DNA Repair (Amst). 4(8):884-96.
Kwon Y, Smerdon MJ. (2005) DNA repair in a protein-DNA complex: searching for the key to get in. Mutat Res. 577(1-2):118-30.

Conconi A, Paquette M, Fahy D, Bespalov VA, Smerdon MJ. (2005) Repair-independent chromatin assembly onto active ribosomal genes in yeast after UV irradiation. Mol Cell Biol. 25(22):9773-83.

Svedruz¼ic´, Z., Wang, C., Kosmoski, J. V. and Smerdon, M. J. Accommodation and Repair of a UV Photoproduct in DNA at Different Rotational Settings on the Nucleosome Surface, J. Biol. Chem. 280:40051-40057, 2005.