bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/335422; this version posted May 31, 2018. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knock-out of dUTPase in mice leads to early embryonic lethality Hajnalka Laura Pálinkás1,2*, Gergely Rácz 1,3, Zoltán Gál4, Orsolya Hoffmann4, Gergely Tihanyi1,3, Elen Gócza4*, László Hiripi4*, Beáta G. Vértessy1,3* *Corresponding authors 1Institute of Enzymology, RCNS, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary 2Doctoral School of Multidisciplinary Medical Science, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary 3Department of Applied Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary 4Department of Animal Biotechnology, Agricultural Biotechnology Institute, National Agricultural Research and Innovation Centre, Gödöllő, Hungary Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to Beáta G. Vértessy (email:
[email protected]). Correspondence may also be addressed to Hajnalka Laura Pálinkás (
[email protected]), Elen Gócza (
[email protected]), and László Hiripi (
[email protected]). 1 bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/335422; this version posted May 31, 2018. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission. Abstract Sanitization of nucleotide pools is essential for genome maintenance. Among the enzymes significant in this mechanism, deoxyuridine 5'-triphosphate nucleotidohydrolase (dUTPase) performs cleavage of dUTP into dUMP and inorganic pyrophosphate. By this reaction the enzyme efficiently prevents uracil incorporation into DNA and provides dUMP, the substrate for de novo thymidylate biosynthesis.