DNA nicks induce mutational signatures associated with BRCA1 deficiency

Analysis of human cancer genome sequences has revealed specific mutational signatures associated with BRCA1-deficient tumors, but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we show that one-ended DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) converted from CRISPR/Cas9-induced nicks by DNA replication, not two-ended DSBs, cause more characteristic chromosomal aberrations and micronuclei in Brca1-deficient cells than in wild-type cells. BRCA1 is required for efficient homologous recombination of these nick-converted DSBs and suppresses bias towards long tract gene conversion and tandem duplication (TD) mediated by two-round strand invasion in a replication strand asymmetry. However, aberrant repair of these nick-converted one-ended DSBs, not that of two-ended DSBs in Brca1-deficient cells, generates mutational signatures such as small indels with microhomology (MH) at the junctions, translocations and small MH-mediated TDs, resembling those in BRCA1-deficient tumors. These results suggest a major contribution of DNA nicks to mutational signatures associated with BRCA1 deficiency in cancer and the underlying mechanisms.