title: Y-family DNA polymerases and their role in tolerance of cellular DNA damage.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Division of Protein and Nucleic Acid Chemistry, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 0QH, UK. jes@mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk
authors.forename: Julian E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Sale
authors.forename: Alan R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Lehmann
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Woodgate
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D020134:Catalytic Domain; D004249:DNA Damage; D004260:DNA Repair; D004261:DNA Replication; D006801:Humans; D016296:Mutagenesis; D009713:Nucleotidyltransferases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D011485:Protein Binding; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D009713:Nucleotidyltransferases