title: Switching and signaling at the telomere.
abstract: This review describes the structure of telomeres, the protective DNA-protein complexes at eukaryotic chromosomal ends, and several molecular mechanisms involved in telomere functions. Also discussed are cellular responses to compromising the functions of telomeres and of telomerase, which synthesizes telomeric DNA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, 94143, USA. telomer@itsa.ucsf.edu
authors.forename: E H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Blackburn
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004261:DNA Replication; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008957:Models, Genetic; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics; D015398:Signal Transduction; D019098:Telomerase / Q000378:metabolism*; D016615:Telomere / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure*
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D019098:Telomerase