DNA replication and repair

DNA in 3R: Repair, Replication, and Recombination

This special issue entitled “DNA in 3R: Repair, Replication, and Recombination” is dedicated to biological processes that preserve the integrity of our genome. These phenomena have attracted broad interest among a large community of scientists that cross disciplines from mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology to clinical scientists. DNA is continuously exposed to a range of damaging agent...

Chromatin Challenges during DNA Replication and Repair

Inheritance and maintenance of the DNA sequence and its organization into chromatin are central for eukaryotic life. To orchestrate DNA-replication and -repair processes in the context of chromatin is a challenge, both in terms of accessibility and maintenance of chromatin organization. To meet the challenge of maintenance, cells have evolved efficient nucleosome-assembly pathways and chromatin...

Synergy Between DNA Replication and Repair Mechanisms

Chaperoning Histones during DNA Replication and Repair

Nuclear DNA is tightly packaged into chromatin, which profoundly influences DNA replication, transcription, repair, and recombination. The extensive interactions between the basic histone proteins and acidic DNA make the nucleosomal unit of chromatin a highly stable entity. For the cellular machinery to access the DNA, the chromatin must be unwound and the DNA cleared of histone proteins. Conve...

RAD51 interconnects between DNA replication, DNA repair and immunity

RAD51, a multifunctional protein, plays a central role in DNA replication and homologous recombination repair, and is known to be involved in cancer development. We identified a novel role for RAD51 in innate immune response signaling. Defects in RAD51 lead to the accumulation of self-DNA in the cytoplasm, triggering a STING-mediated innate immune response after replication stress and DNA damag...