2. Academic Validation
  3. RNA-directed repair of DNA double-strand breaks

RNA-directed repair of DNA double-strand breaks

  • DNA Repair (Amst). 2015 Aug;32:82-85. doi: 10.1016/j.dnarep.2015.04.017.
Yun-Gui Yang 1,  Yijun Qi 2
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Key Laboratory of Genomics and Precision Medicine, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address: ygyang@big.ac.cn.
  • 2 Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Center for Plant Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. Electronic address: qiyijun@tsinghua.edu.cn.
PMID: 25960340 DOI: 10.1016/j.dnarep.2015.04.017
Abstract

DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are among the most deleterious DNA lesions, which if unrepaired or repaired incorrectly can cause cell death or genome instability that may lead to Cancer. To counteract these adverse consequences, eukaryotes have evolved a highly orchestrated mechanism to repair DSBs, namely DNA-damage-response (DDR). DDR, as defined specifically in relation to DSBs, consists of multi-layered regulatory modes including DNA damage sensors, transducers and effectors, through which DSBs are sensed and then repaired via DNAprotein interactions. Unexpectedly, recent studies have revealed a direct role of RNA in the repair of DSBs, including DSB-induced small RNA (diRNA)-directed and RNA-templated DNA repair. Here, we summarize the recent discoveries of RNA-mediated regulation of DSB repair and discuss the potential impact of these novel RNA components of the DSB repair pathway on genomic stability and plasticity.

Keywords

DNA damage response; DNA repair; Double-strand break; MicroRNA; RNA; diRNA.

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