title: Single molecule techniques in DNA repair: a primer.
abstract: A powerful new approach has become much more widespread and offers insights into aspects of DNA repair unattainable with billions of molecules. Single molecule techniques can be used to image, manipulate or characterize the action of a single repair protein on a single strand of DNA. This allows search mechanisms to be probed, and the effects of force to be understood. These physical aspects can dominate a biochemical reaction, where at the ensemble level their nuances are obscured. In this paper we discuss some of the many technical advances that permit study at the single molecule level. We focus on DNA repair to which these techniques are actively being applied. DNA repair is also a process that encompasses so much of what single molecule studies benefit--searching for targets, complex formation, sequential biochemical reactions and substrate hand-off to name just a few. We discuss how single molecule biophysics is poised to transform our understanding of biological systems, in particular DNA repair.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK.
authors.forename: Craig D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK.
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Simons
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK.
authors.forename: Cassidy E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Mackenzie
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Bennett
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Van Houten
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK. Electronic address: nkad@essex.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Neil M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Kad
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004260:DNA Repair; D031541:Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force / Q000379:methods*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods; D052898:Optical Tweezers
keywords: AFM; DNA repair; FRET, Imaging; Laser tweezers; Magnetic tweezers; Single molecule