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Direct Enzymatic Reversal of DNA Damage

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Molecular Life Sciences

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Synonyms

Direct DNA repair

Definition

This is a category of DNA repair in which the chemical modification is removed directly from the DNA. Enzymes are capable of doing this without excising bases or nucleotides.

Discussion

Other sections of this encyclopedia deal with major types of DNA repair, including base excision, nucleotide excision, and mismatch repair. However, another type of repair is also important and will be presented here. At least three important types of direct reversal of DNA damage are known.

Photoreversal is a photoinduced process that eliminates photoinduced dimers (Fig. 1). Historically, this was one of the first modes of DNA repair recognized and provided an early impetus for the importance of DNA repair in biological systems.

Fig. 1
figure 1

DNA photorepair (nonenzymatic and enzymatic, the latter involving the enzyme DNA photolyase)

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry and Center in Molecular Toxicology, Biochemistry and Center in Molecular Toxicology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, 2200 Pierce Ave, Nashville, TN, 37232-0146, USA

    F. Peter Guengerich

Authors
  1. F. Peter Guengerich
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to F. Peter Guengerich .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Chemistry, University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia, USA

    Ellis Bell

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Guengerich, F.P. (2014). Direct Enzymatic Reversal of DNA Damage. In: Bell, E. (eds) Molecular Life Sciences. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6436-5_233-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6436-5_233-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6436-5

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