RAD53

The RAD53 group is named for the essential Saccharomyces cerevisiae DNA damage checkpoint kinase Rad53, the fungal ortholog of human checkpoint kinase CHK2. Rad53 integrates signals from Mec1 and Tel1 phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-related kinases through adaptor proteins such as Rad9, then halts cell cycle progression, stabilizes stalled replication forks, suppresses late-firing origins, and induces DNA repair and nucleotide synthesis genes including ribonucleotide reductase through the downstream kinase Dun1. Two forkhead-associated domains mediate phospho-dependent interactions with damaged chromatin. In kinase phylogenies the RAD53 group sits within the CAMK superfamily, illustrating how a serine/threonine kinase scaffold was adapted for genome surveillance across eukaryotic evolution.