Cellular defense against fatal associations between proteins and DNA
Thursday, July 3, 2014 - 20:01
in Biology & Nature
DNA -- the carrier of genetic information -- is constantly threatened by damage originating from exogenous and endogenous sources. Very special DNA lesions are DNA-protein crosslinks -- proteins covalently linked to DNA. So far hardly anything was known about repair mechanisms specifically targeting DNA-protein crosslinks. Scientists have now discovered a protease that is able to chop down the protein component of DNA-protein crosslinks, thereby enabling organisms to copy their genetic information even if crosslinks arise. The results of this study have major implications for the understanding of genome integrity and cancer development.