title: From Mfd to TRCF and Back Again-A Perspective on Bacterial Transcription-coupled Nucleotide Excision Repair.
abstract: Photochemical and other reactions on DNA cause damage and corrupt genetic information. To counteract this damage, organisms have evolved intricate repair mechanisms that often crosstalk with other DNA-based processes such as transcription. Intriguing observations in the late 1980s and early 1990s led to the discovery of transcription-coupled repair (TCR), a subpathway of nucleotide excision repair. TCR, found in all domains of life, prioritizes for repair lesions located in the transcribed DNA strand, directly read by RNA polymerase. Here, we give a historical overview of developments in the field of bacterial TCR, starting from the pioneering work of Evelyn Witkin and Aziz Sancar, which led to the identification of the first transcription-repair coupling factor (the Mfd protein), to recent studies that have uncovered alternative TCR pathways and regulators.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Brown University, Providence, RI.
authors.forename: Alexandra M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Deaconescu
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Brown University, Providence, RI.
authors.forename: Margaret M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Suhanovsky
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D004249:DNA Damage; D004260:DNA Repair; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases / Q000378:metabolism; D013698:Templates, Genetic; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D014157:Transcription Factors; C072103:transcription repair coupling factor protein, Bacteria; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases