Dna repair
DNA Repair
DNA repair (pronounced: dee-en-ay reh-pair) is a collection of processes by which a cell identifies and corrects damage to the DNA molecules that encode its genome. In human cells, both normal metabolic activities and environmental factors such as radiation can cause DNA damage, resulting in as many as 1 million individual molecular lesions per cell per day. Many of these lesions cause structural damage to the DNA molecule and can alter or eliminate the cell's ability to transcribe the gene that the affected DNA encodes.
Etymology
The term "DNA repair" is derived from the English words "deoxyribonucleic acid" (DNA) and "repair". DNA, first discovered in 1869 by Friedrich Miescher, is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms. The term "repair" comes from the Latin "reparare", meaning "to make ready again", reflecting the process's role in maintaining the integrity of the genome.
Types of DNA Repair
There are several types of DNA repair, including:
- Direct reversal: Some damage to DNA can be repaired by direct reversal of the damage, which is the simplest repair mechanism.
- Base excision repair (BER): This is a cellular mechanism that repairs damaged DNA throughout the cell cycle. It is primarily responsible for removing small, non-helix-distorting base lesions from the genome.
- Nucleotide excision repair (NER): This is a DNA repair mechanism that removes small, helix-distorting base lesions from the genome.
- Mismatch repair (MMR): This is a system for recognizing and repairing erroneous insertion, deletion, and mis-incorporation of bases that can arise during DNA replication and recombination.
- Double-strand break repair: Double-strand breaks, in which both strands in the double helix are severed, are particularly hazardous to the cell because they can lead to genome rearrangements.
Related Terms
- Genome
- Radiation
- Direct reversal
- Base excision repair
- Nucleotide excision repair
- Mismatch repair
- Double-strand break repair
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Dna repair
- Wikipedia's article - Dna repair
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