Dynamic chromatin tethering of MDC1 regulates genome stability.
DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are highly cytotoxic DNA lesions because they disrupt the connectivity of the DNA strand. Homologous recombination (HR) is a high-fidelity DSB repair pathway that copies the sequence spanning the break from a homologous template, but how DNA ends are held together during HR remains unclear. Here we demonstrate that the proline-serine-threonine (PST) repeat region of Mediator of DNA Damage Checkpoint 1 (MDC1) is a multivalent nucleosome-binding domain, sufficient to tether chromatin in multiple contexts. In interphase, the constitutive chromatin association of MDC1 is critical for RAD51 loading and efficient HR. In mitosis, PST-mediated chromatin binding is attenuated by phosphorylation, preventing aberrant chromosomal interactions while preserving DNA tethering by the MDC1-TOPBP1-CIP2A complex. In total, this work demonstrates that the PST repeat region of MDC1 is a multivalent nucleosome-binding domain with tunable affinity that supports DSB repair by HR and maintains genome stability during mitosis.