DNA Repair Quiz

PDF page 578: DNA polymerase is an efficient enzyme but it can make mistakes while adding nucleotides during replication. It edits the DNA by proofreading every newly added base. An incorrect base is removed and replaced by the correct base. If a base remains mismatched, special repair enzymes can often recognize the wrongly incorporated base, excise it from the DNA, and replace it with the correct base. Most mistakes are corrected, but if they are not they may result in a mutation, which is defined as a permanent change in a DNA sequence. A mutation can be passed to daughter cells through DNA replication and cell division. There are several types of DNA mutations, including substitution, deletion, insertion, and translocation. Mutations in repair genes may lead to serious consequences, such as cancer. Mutations can be induced by environmental factors, such as UV radiation, or they can occur spontaneously. (We will explore the effects of mutation in more detail in a later chapter. Remember that mutations are not always detrimental. They can be beneficial, too. Changes in DNA increase genetic variation—the foundation of evolution by natural selection.)

PDF page 586: Most mistakes are corrected, and if they are not, they may result in a mutation defined as a permanent change in the DNA sequence. Mutations can be of many types, such as substitution, deletion, insertion, and translocation. Mutations can be

PDF page 579: DNA replication is a highly accurate process, but mistakes can occasionally occur, such as a DNA polymerase inserting a wrong base. Uncorrected mistakes may sometimes lead to serious consequences, such as cancer. Repair mechanisms correct the mistakes. In rare cases, mistakes are not corrected, leading to mutations; in other cases, repair enzymes are themselves mutated or defective. Most of the mistakes during DNA replication are promptly corrected by DNA polymerase by proofreading the base that has been just added (Figure 14.17). In proofreading, the DNA pol reads the newly added base before adding the next one, so a correction can be made. The polymerase checks whether the newly added base has paired correctly with the base in the template strand. If it is the right base, the next nucleotide is added. If an incorrect base has been added, the enzyme makes a cut at the phosphodiester bond and releases the wrong nucleotide. This is performed by the exonuclease action of DNA pol III. Once the incorrect nucleotide has been removed, a new one will be added again.

PDF page 579: Some errors are not corrected during replication, but are instead corrected after replication is completed; this type of repair is known as mismatch repair (Figure 14.18). The enzymes recognize the incorrectly added nucleotide and excise it; this is then replaced by the correct base. If this remains uncorrected, it may lead to more permanent damage. How do mismatch repair enzymes recognize which of the two bases is the incorrect one? In E. coli, after replication, the nitrogenous base

PDF page 585: DNA polymerase can make mistakes while adding nucleotides. It edits the DNA by proofreading every newly added base. Incorrect bases are removed and replaced by the correct base, and then a new base is added. Most mistakes are corrected during replication, although when this does not happen, the mismatch repair mechanism is employed. Mismatch repair enzymes recognize the wrongly incorporated base and excise it from the DNA, replacing it with the correct base. In yet

PDF page 580: In another type of repair mechanism, nucleotide excision repair, enzymes replace incorrect bases by making a cut on both the 3' and 5' ends of the incorrect base (Figure 14.19). The segment of DNA is removed and replaced with the correctly paired nucleotides by the action of DNA pol. Once the bases are filled in, the remaining gap is sealed with a phosphodiester linkage catalyzed by DNA ligase. This repair mechanism is often employed when UV exposure causes the formation of pyrimidine dimers.

PDF page 580: In another type of repair mechanism, nucleotide excision repair, enzymes replace incorrect bases by making a cut on both the 3' and 5' ends of the incorrect base (Figure 14.19). The segment of DNA is removed and replaced with the correctly paired nucleotides by the action of DNA pol. Once the bases are filled in, the remaining gap is sealed with a phosphodiester linkage catalyzed by DNA ligase. This repair mechanism is often employed when UV exposure causes the formation of pyrimidine dimers.

PDF page 580: In another type of repair mechanism, nucleotide excision repair, enzymes replace incorrect bases by making a cut on both the 3' and 5' ends of the incorrect base (Figure 14.19). The segment of DNA is removed and replaced with the correctly paired nucleotides by the action of DNA pol. Once the bases are filled in, the remaining gap is sealed with a phosphodiester linkage catalyzed by DNA ligase. This repair mechanism is often employed when UV exposure causes the formation of pyrimidine dimers.

PDF page 588: exposure causes the formation of what?

PDF page 588: c. pyrimidine dimers

PDF page 580: A well-studied example of mistakes not being corrected is seen in people suffering from xeroderma pigmentosa (Figure 14.20). Affected individuals have skin that is highly sensitive to UV rays from the sun. When individuals are exposed to UV, pyrimidine dimers, especially those of thymine, are formed; people with xeroderma pigmentosa are not able to repair the damage. These are not repaired because of a defect in the nucleotide excision repair enzymes, whereas in normal individuals, the thymine dimers are excised and the defect is corrected. The thymine dimers distort the structure of the DNA double helix, and this may cause problems during DNA replication.

PDF page 580: Figure 14.19 Nucleotide excision repairs thymine dimers. When exposed to UV, thymines lying adjacent to each other

PDF page 580: A well-studied example of mistakes not being corrected is seen in people suffering from xeroderma pigmentosa (Figure 14.20). Affected individuals have skin that is highly sensitive to UV rays from the sun. When individuals are exposed to UV, pyrimidine dimers, especially those of thymine, are formed; people with xeroderma pigmentosa are not able to repair the damage. These are not repaired because of a defect in the nucleotide excision repair enzymes, whereas in normal individuals, the thymine dimers are excised and the defect is corrected. The thymine dimers distort the structure of the DNA double helix, and this may cause problems during DNA replication.

PDF page 578: DNA polymerase is an efficient enzyme but it can make mistakes while adding nucleotides during replication. It edits the DNA by proofreading every newly added base. An incorrect base is removed and replaced by the correct base. If a base remains mismatched, special repair enzymes can often recognize the wrongly incorporated base, excise it from the DNA, and replace it with the correct base. Most mistakes are corrected, but if they are not they may result in a mutation, which is defined as a permanent change in a DNA sequence. A mutation can be passed to daughter cells through DNA replication and cell division. There are several types of DNA mutations, including substitution, deletion, insertion, and translocation. Mutations in repair genes may lead to serious consequences, such as cancer. Mutations can be induced by environmental factors, such as UV radiation, or they can occur spontaneously. (We will explore the effects of mutation in more detail in a later chapter. Remember that mutations are not always detrimental. They can be beneficial, too. Changes in DNA increase genetic variation—the foundation of evolution by natural selection.)

PDF page 586: Most mistakes are corrected, and if they are not, they may result in a mutation defined as a permanent change in the DNA sequence. Mutations can be of many types, such as substitution, deletion, insertion, and translocation. Mutations can be

PDF page 578: DNA polymerase is an efficient enzyme but it can make mistakes while adding nucleotides during replication. It edits the DNA by proofreading every newly added base. An incorrect base is removed and replaced by the correct base. If a base remains mismatched, special repair enzymes can often recognize the wrongly incorporated base, excise it from the DNA, and replace it with the correct base. Most mistakes are corrected, but if they are not they may result in a mutation, which is defined as a permanent change in a DNA sequence. A mutation can be passed to daughter cells through DNA replication and cell division. There are several types of DNA mutations, including substitution, deletion, insertion, and translocation. Mutations in repair genes may lead to serious consequences, such as cancer. Mutations can be induced by environmental factors, such as UV radiation, or they can occur spontaneously. (We will explore the effects of mutation in more detail in a later chapter. Remember that mutations are not always detrimental. They can be beneficial, too. Changes in DNA increase genetic variation—the foundation of evolution by natural selection.)

PDF page 583: Mutations in repair genes have been known to cause cancer. Many mutated repair genes have been implicated in certain forms of pancreatic cancer, colon cancer, and colorectal cancer. Mutations can affect either somatic cells or germ cells. If many mutations accumulate in a somatic cell, they may lead to problems such as the uncontrolled cell division observed in cancer. If a mutation takes place in germ cells, the mutation will be passed on to the next generation, as in the case of hemophilia and xeroderma pigmentosa.

PDF page 581: Errors during DNA replication are not the only reason why mutations arise in DNA. Mutations, variations in the nucleotide sequence of a genome, can also occur because of damage to DNA. Such mutations may be of two types: induced or spontaneous. Induced mutations are those that result from an exposure to chemicals, UV rays, x-rays, or some other environmental agent. Spontaneous mutations occur without any exposure to any environmental agent; they are a result of natural reactions taking place within the body. Mutations may have a wide range of effects. Some mutations are not expressed; these are known as silent mutations. Point mutations are those mutations that affect a single base pair. The most common nucleotide mutations are substitutions, in which one base is replaced by another. These can be of two types, either transitions or transversions. Transition substitution refers to a purine or pyrimidine being replaced by a base of the same kind; for example, a purine such as adenine may be replaced by the purine guanine. Transversion substitution refers to a purine being replaced by a pyrimidine, or vice versa; for example, cytosine, a pyrimidine, is replaced by adenine, a purine. Mutations can also be the result of the addition of a base, known as an insertion, or the removal of a base, also known as deletion. Sometimes a piece of DNA from one chromosome may get translocated to another chromosome or to another region of the same chromosome; this is also known as translocation. These mutation types are shown in Figure 14.22.

PDF page 584: electrophoresis technique used to separate DNA fragments according to size helicase during replication, this enzyme helps to open up the DNA helix by breaking the hydrogen bonds induced mutation mutation that results from exposure to chemicals or environmental agents lagging strand during replication, the strand that is replicated in short fragments and away from the replication fork leading strand strand that is synthesized continuously in the 5'-3' direction which is synthesized in the direction of the replication fork ligase enzyme that catalyzes the formation of a phosphodiester linkage between the 3' OH and 5' phosphate ends of the DNA mismatch repair type of repair mechanism in which mismatched bases are removed after replication mutation variation in the nucleotide sequence of a genome nucleotide excision repair type of DNA repair mechanism in which the wrong base, along with a few nucleotides upstream or downstream, are removed Okazaki fragment DNA fragment that is synthesized in short stretches on the lagging strand point mutation mutation that affects a single base primase enzyme that synthesizes the RNA primer; the primer is needed for DNA pol to start synthesis of a new DNA strand primer short stretch of nucleotides that is required to initiate replication; in the case of replication, the primer has RNA nucleotides proofreading function of DNA pol in which it reads the newly added base before adding the next one replication fork Y-shaped structure formed during initiation of replication silent mutation mutation that is not expressed single-strand binding protein during replication, protein that binds to the single-stranded DNA; this helps in keeping the two strands of DNA apart so that they may serve as templates sliding clamp ring-shaped protein that holds the DNA pol on the DNA strand spontaneous mutation mutation that takes place in the cells as a result of chemical reactions taking place naturally without exposure to any external agent

PDF page 581: Errors during DNA replication are not the only reason why mutations arise in DNA. Mutations, variations in the nucleotide sequence of a genome, can also occur because of damage to DNA. Such mutations may be of two types: induced or spontaneous. Induced mutations are those that result from an exposure to chemicals, UV rays, x-rays, or some other environmental agent. Spontaneous mutations occur without any exposure to any environmental agent; they are a result of natural reactions taking place within the body. Mutations may have a wide range of effects. Some mutations are not expressed; these are known as silent mutations. Point mutations are those mutations that affect a single base pair. The most common nucleotide mutations are substitutions, in which one base is replaced by another. These can be of two types, either transitions or transversions. Transition substitution refers to a purine or pyrimidine being replaced by a base of the same kind; for example, a purine such as adenine may be replaced by the purine guanine. Transversion substitution refers to a purine being replaced by a pyrimidine, or vice versa; for example, cytosine, a pyrimidine, is replaced by adenine, a purine. Mutations can also be the result of the addition of a base, known as an insertion, or the removal of a base, also known as deletion. Sometimes a piece of DNA from one chromosome may get translocated to another chromosome or to another region of the same chromosome; this is also known as translocation. These mutation types are shown in Figure 14.22.