title: Structure and function of nucleases in DNA repair: shape, grip and blade of the DNA scissors.
abstract: DNA nucleases catalyze the cleavage of phosphodiester bonds. These enzymes play crucial roles in various DNA repair processes, which involve DNA replication, base excision repair, nucleotide excision repair, mismatch repair, and double strand break repair. In recent years, new nucleases involved in various DNA repair processes have been reported, including the Mus81 : Mms4 (Eme1) complex, which functions during the meiotic phase and the Artemis : DNA-PK complex, which processes a V(D)J recombination intermediate. Defects of these nucleases cause genetic instability or severe immunodeficiency. Thus, structural biology on various nuclease actions is essential for the elucidation of the molecular mechanism of complex DNA repair machinery. Three-dimensional structural information of nucleases is also rapidly accumulating, thus providing important insights into the molecular architectures, as well as the DNA recognition and cleavage mechanisms. This review focuses on the three-dimensional structure-function relationships of nucleases crucial for DNA repair processes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Structural Biology, Biomolecular Engineering Research Institute, 6-2-3 Furuedai, Suita, Osaka 565-0874, Japan.
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nishino
authors.forename: Kosuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Morikawa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020137:Base Pair Mismatch; D001665:Binding Sites; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004260:DNA Repair / Q000502:physiology*; D004261:DNA Replication; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D003850:Deoxyribonuclease I / Q000737:chemistry; D003851:Deoxyribonucleases / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology*; D004720:Endonucleases; D045585:Flap Endonucleases; D006801:Humans; D011487:Protein Conformation; D045522:Recombinases; D016914:Ribonuclease H / Q000737:chemistry; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D019895:Transposases / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D045522:Recombinases; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D015534:Trans-Activators; D004247:DNA; D019895:Transposases; D003851:Deoxyribonucleases; D004720:Endonucleases; D045585:Flap Endonucleases; C498772:MUS81 protein, human; D003850:Deoxyribonuclease I; C112337:MMS4 protein, S cerevisiae; D016914:Ribonuclease H