title: The Balancing Act of Ribonucleotides in DNA.
abstract: The abundance of ribonucleotides in DNA remained undetected until recently because they are efficiently removed by the ribonucleotide excision repair (RER) pathway, a process similar to Okazaki fragment (OF) processing after incision by Ribonuclease H2 (RNase H2). All DNA polymerases incorporate ribonucleotides during DNA synthesis. How many, when, and why they are incorporated has been the focus of intense work during recent years by many labs. In this review, we discuss recent advances in ribonucleotide incorporation by eukaryotic DNA polymerases that suggest an evolutionarily conserved role for ribonucleotides in DNA. We also review the data that indicate that removal of ribonucleotides has an important role in maintaining genome stability.
authors.affiliation: Section on Formation of RNA, Division of Developmental Biology, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Susana M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Cerritelli
authors.affiliation: Section on Formation of RNA, Division of Developmental Biology, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. Electronic address: crouchr@helix.nih.gov.
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Crouch
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019611:Archaeoglobus fulgidus / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020274:Autoimmune Diseases of the Nervous System / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004260:DNA Repair; D004261:DNA Replication; D004259:DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D042822:Genomic Instability; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D009154:Mutation; D009421:Nervous System Malformations / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D009707:Nucleosomes / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D016914:Ribonuclease H / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D012265:Ribonucleotides / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D009707:Nucleosomes; D012265:Ribonucleotides; D004247:DNA; D004259:DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase; C091139:ribonuclease HII; D016914:Ribonuclease H
keywords: Aicardi–Goutières syndrome; DNA polymerase; RER; RNase H2; steric gate; systemic lupus erythematosus