Division of Protein and Nucleic Acid Chemistry, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 0QH, UK.
Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2012 Feb 23;13(3):141-52. doi: 10.1038/nrm3289.
The past 15 years have seen an explosion in our understanding of how cells replicate damaged DNA and how this can lead to mutagenesis. The Y-family DNA polymerases lie at the heart of this process, which is commonly known as translesion synthesis. This family of polymerases has unique features that enable them to synthesize DNA past damaged bases. However, as they exhibit low fidelity when copying undamaged DNA, it is essential that they are only called into play when they are absolutely required. Several layers of regulation ensure that this is achieved.
在过去的 15 年中，我们对细胞如何复制受损 DNA 以及这如何导致突变有了更深入的了解。Y 家族 DNA 聚合酶是这个过程的核心，通常称为跨损伤合成。这个家族的聚合酶具有独特的特性，使它们能够在越过受损碱基的情况下合成 DNA。然而，由于它们在复制未受损 DNA 时表现出低保真度，因此当绝对需要时才调用它们至关重要。几个层次的调控确保了这一点的实现。
