Diploid-associated adaptation to chronic low-dose UV irradiation requires homologous recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Ultraviolet-induced DNA lesions impede DNA replication and transcription and are therefore a potential source of genome instability. Here, we performed serial transfer experiments on nucleotide excision repair-deficient (rad14 Delta) yeast cells in the presence of chronic low-dose ultraviolet irradiation, focusing on the mechanisms underlying adaptive responses to chronic low-dose ultraviolet irradiation. Our results show that the entire haploid rad14 Delta population rapidly becomes diploid during chronic low-dose ultraviolet exposure, and the evolved diploid rad14 Delta cells were more chronic low-dose ultraviolet-resistant than haploid cells. Strikingly, single-stranded DNA, but not pyrimidine dimer, accumulation is associated with diploid-dependent fitness in response to chronic low-dose ultraviolet stress, suggesting that efficient repair of single-stranded DNA tracts is beneficial for chronic low-dose ultraviolet tolerance. Consistent with this hypothesis, homologous recombination is essential for the rapid evolutionary adaptation of diploidy, and rad14 Delta cells lacking Rad51 recombinase, a key player in homologous recombination, exhibited abnormal cell morphology characterized by multiple RPA-yellow fluorescent protein foci after chronic low-dose ultraviolet exposure. Furthermore, interhomolog recombination is increased in chronic low-dose ultraviolet-exposed rad14 Delta diploids, which causes frequent loss of heterozygosity. Thus, our results highlight the importance of homologous recombination in the survival and genomic stability of cells with unrepaired lesions.