In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Science in Biology

in the

School of Biological Sciences

Tianyi Ye

Will defend his thesis

“Functional Roles of Rad52 and RPA in Inverse RNA Strand Exchange”

22, April, 2026

10: 00 AM (EST) in EBB-1-5024.

https://gatech.zoom.us/j/92351872480?pwd=5Yq8gGcTDl5HY45siEZe6qIpwpUj8w.1

Passcode: [To be shared on the day of]

Thesis Advisor:

Dr. Francesca Storici

School of Biological Sciences

Georgia Institute of Technology

Committee Members:

Dr. Yury O. Chernoff

School of Biological Sciences

Georgia Institute of Technology

 Dr. Alexander Mazin

Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology

UT Health San Antonio

Abstract: RNA-templated DNA repair has emerged as an alternative pathway for maintaining genome stability following DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Rad52 is a key factor in homologous recombination (HR), where it promotes strand annealing and coordinates repair intermediates. Previous in vitro studies have shown that interaction between Rad52 and replication protein A (RPA) influences inverse RNA strand exchange, a reaction in which RNA can guide DNA repair. These findings suggest a role for Rad52–RPA interaction in RNA-templated DNA repair; however, whether this mechanism operates in vivo remains unclear.

In this study, we developed a yeast-based system to investigate the role of Rad52–RPA interaction in RNA-templated DNA repair. Using a chromosomal reporter assay in which restoration of gene function serves as a quantitative readout, we measured repair frequency as a proxy for inverse RNA strand exchange and evaluated Rad52 variants with disrupted RPA interaction. This approach enables direct assessment of the requirement for Rad52–RPA interaction in RNA-dependent repair in vivo and provides new insight into RNA-mediated DNA repair mechanisms.