TY - JOUR T1 - Fast imaging of DNA motion reveals distinct sub-diffusion regimes at the site of DNA damage JF - bioRxiv DO - 10.1101/042051 SP - 042051 AU - Judith Miné-Hattab AU - Vincent Recamier AU - Ignacio Izeddin AU - Rodney Rothstein AU - Xavier Darzacq Y1 - 2016/01/01 UR - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/03/01/042051.abstract N2 - The dynamic organization of genes inside the nucleus is an important determinant for their biological function. Using ultra-fast microscopy in living S. cerevisiae cells and improved analysis of DNA mean square displacements, we observe that DNA motion is sub-diffusive at time scales ranging from 10 ms to a few minutes. These distinct sub-diffusive regimes simultaneously drive DNA motion differently at each time scale. In response to a double-strand break, a damaged locus is more mobile at large time scales but, surprisingly, the broken DNA imaged at millisecond intervals is much less mobile. Such a change in the sub-diffusion mode dramatically modifies how DNA explores its surrounding nuclear space. We propose a model in which stiffening of the damaged DNA ends by the repair complex reduces its mobility locally, but allows significant nuclear exploration at longer time scales due to an enhanced ability to traverse the DNA meshwork. ER -