Sister chromatid exchanges independent of canonical homologous recombination factors.

Sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) are a product of joint DNA molecules resolution, and are considered to require homologous recombination (HR). Canonical HR factors BRCA1, BRCA2 and RAD51 were indeed essential for SCE induction in response to irradiation-induced DNA breaks. By contrast, replication-blocking agents, including PARP inhibitors, induced SCEs independently of BRCA1, BRCA2 or RAD51. HR-independent SCEs were associated with incomplete DNA replication, as evidenced by post-replicative single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) accumulation and enrichment of PARP inhibitor-induced SCEs at common fragile sites (CFSs). Importantly, PARP-induced DNA lesions were transmitted into mitosis, pointing towards SCEs originating from mitotic processing of underreplicated DNA. We found polymerase theta to be associated to mitotic DNA lesions, to be required for SCE formation and to prevent chromosome fragmentation upon PARP inhibition in HR-defective cells. Combined, our data show that replication-blocking agents lead to underreplicated DNA in mitosis, which is processed into SCEs independently of canonical HR factors.