Genome Instability and DNA Polymerases.

Broad research activities

.Mechanism of DNA replication in eukaryotes, genome instability, mutagenesis and carcinogenesis.

List of Publications:

1. Acharya N., Kalssen R., Johnson R.E., Prakash L. and Prakash S. (2010) All the three subunits of Yeast DNA Polymerase delta interacts with PCNA.  (PNAS ,accepted)
2. Acharya N⁺., Yoon J.H⁺., Hutwitz J., Prakash L. and Prakash S. (2010) DNA polymerase eta lacking the ubiquitin-binding domain promotes replicative lesion bypass in human cells (⁺ joint first author). Proc Natl Acad Sci USA., Jun 8; 107(23):10401-10405.
3. Acharya N., Johnson R.E., Pagès V., Prakash L. and Prakash S. (2009) Yeast Rev1 protein promotes complex formation of DNA polymerase zeta with Pol32 subunit of DNA polymerase delta. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA., Jun 16; 106(24):9631-9636.
4. Acharya N., Yoon J.H., Gali H., Unk I., Haracska L., Johnson R.E., Hutwitz J., Prakash L. and Prakash S. (2008) Roles of PCNA-binding and ubiquitin-binding domains in human DNA polymerase eta in translesion DNA synthesis. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA., Nov 18; 105 (46):17724-17729.
5. Pagès V., Bresson A., Acharya N., Prakash L. Fuchs R.P. and Prakash S. (2008) Requirement of Rad5 for DNA polymerase zeta-dependent translesion synthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Genetics, 2008 Sep; 180(1):73-82.

6. Acharya N., Haracska L., Prakash S. and Prakash L. (2007) Complex formation of yeast Rev1 with DNA polymerase {eta}. Mol Cell Biol., Dec; 27 (23):8401-8408.
7. Acharya N., Brahma A., Haracska L., Prakash S. and Prakash L. (2007) Mutations in the Ubiquitin Binding UBZ Motif of DNA Polymerase {eta} Do Not Impair Its Function in Translesion Synthesis during Replication. Mol Cell Biol., Oct; 27(20):7266-7272.
8. Acharya N., Johnson R.E., Prakash S. and Prakash L. (2006) Complex formation with Rev1 enhances the proficiency of Saccharomyces cerevisiae DNA polymerase zeta for mismatch extension and for extension opposite from DNA lesions. Mol. Cell Biol., Dec. 26 (24), 9555-9563.
9. Acharya N., Haracska L., Johnson R.E., Unk I., Prakash S. and Prakash L. (2005) Complex formation of yeast Rev1 and Rev7 proteins: a novel role for the polymerase-associated domain. Mol. Cell Biol., Nov. 25 (21), 9734-9740.
10. Haracska L., Acharya N., Unk I., Johnson R.E., Hurwitz J., Prakash L. and Prakash S. (2005) A single domain in human DNA polymerase iota mediates interaction with PCNA: implications for translesion DNA synthesis. Mol. Cell Biol., Feb. 25 (3), 1183-1190
11. Acharya N, Talawar R. K., Purnapatre K, Varshney U. (2004) Use of sequence microdivergence in mycobacterial ortholog to analyze contributions of the water-activating loop histidine of Escherichia coli uracil-DNA glycosylase in reactant binding and catalysis. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 320(3), 893-899.
12. Acharya, N., Talawar R. K., Saikrishnan, K., Vijayan, M and Varshney, U. (2003) Substitutions at tyrosine 66 of Escherichia coli uracil DNA glycosylase lead to characterization of an efficient enzyme that is recalcitrant to product inhibition. Nucleic Acids Res., 31(24), 7216-7226.
13. Acharya, N., Kumar P. and Varshney, U. (2003) Complexes of Uracil-DNA glycosylase inhibitor protein, Ugi, with Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis uracil-DNA glycosylases. Microbiology 149, 1647-1658.
14. Saikrishnan, K., Jeyakanthan, Venkatesh, J., Acharya, N., Purnapatre, K., Sekar, K., Varshney, U. and Vijayan, M. (2003) Structure of Mycobacterium tuberculosis single stranded DNA binding protein. Variability in quaternary structure and its implications. J. Mol. Biol., 331, 385-393.
15. Acharya, N., Roy, S., and Varshney, U. (2002) Mutational analysis of the uracil DNA glycosylase inhibitor protein and its interaction with Escherichia coli uracil DNA glycosylase. J. Mol. Biol., 321 (4), 579-590.
16. Acharya, N., and Varshney, U. (2002) Biochemical properties of single stranded DNA binding protein from Mycobacterium smegmatis, a fast growing mycobacterium and its physical and functional interaction with uracil DNA glycosylases. J. Mol. Biol., 318 (5), 1251-1264.
17. Handa, P.⁺, Acharya, N.⁺, and Varshney, U. (2002) Effects of mutations at tyrosine 66 and asparagine 123 in the active site pocket of Escherichia coli uracil DNA glycosylase on uracil excision from synthetic DNA oligomers: evidence for the occurrence of long-range interactions between the enzyme and substrate. (+ joint first author) Nucleic Acids Res, 30(14), 3086-3095.
18. Handa, P., Acharya, N., Talwar R. K., Roy, S., and Varshney, U. (2002) Contrasting effects of mutating active site residues, aspartic acid 64 and histidine 187 of Escherichia coli uracil-DNA glycosylase on uracil excision and interaction with an inhibitor protein. Indian J. Biochem. Biophys., 29, 312-317.
19. Saikrishnan, K., Jeyakanthan, Venkatesh, J., Acharya, N., Purnapatre, K., Sekar, K., Varshney, U. and Vijayan, M. (2002) Crystallization and preliminary X-ray studies on the single stranded DNA binding protein from Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Acta Crystallogr D Biol Crystallogr, 58, 327-329.
20. Handa, P., Acharya, N. and Varshney, U. (2001) Chimeras between single stranded DNA binding proteins from Escherichia coli and Mycobacterium tuberculosis reveal that their C-terminal domains interact with uracil-DNA glycosylases. J. Biol. Chem. 276, 16992-16997.
21. Handa, P., Acharya, N., Thanedar, S., Purnapatre, K. and Varshney, U. (2000) Distinct properties of single stranded DNA binding protein from Mycobacterium tuberculosis and its functional characterization in Escherichia coli. Nucleic Acids Res. 28, 3823-3829.
22. Sadhale, P., Sharma, N., Beena, P, Katoch, A., Acharya, N., and Singh, S. K. (1998) Modulation of polymerase II composition: a possible mode of transcriptional regulation of stress response in eukaryotes. J. Biosci. 23, 331-335.