Answering the Call: Coping with DNA Damage at the Most Inopportune Time

[摘要] DNA damage incurred during the process ofchromosomal replication has a particularly high possibility ofresulting in mutagenesis or lethality for the cell. The SOSresponse ofEscherichia coliappears to be well adaptedfor this particular situation and involves the coordinatedup-regulation of genes whose products center upon the tasks ofmaintaining the integrity of the replication fork when itencounters DNA damage, delaying the replication process (a DNAdamage checkpoint), repairing the DNA lesions or allowingreplication to occur over these DNA lesions, and then restoringprocessive replication before the SOS response itself isturned off. Recent advances in the fields of genomics andbiochemistry has given a much more comprehensive picture of thetiming and coordination of events which allow cells to deal withpotentially lethal or mutagenic DNA lesions at the time ofchromosomal replication.

[学科分类] 基础医学