title: A Magic Spot in Genome Maintenance.
abstract: Nucleotide excision repair (NER) is the key DNA repair system that eliminates the majority of DNA helix-distorting lesions. RNA polymerase (RNAP) expedites the recognition of DNA damage by NER components via transcription-coupled DNA repair (TCR). In bacteria, a modified nucleotide ppGpp ('magic spot') is a pleiotropic second messenger that mediates the response to nutrient deficiencies by altering the initiation properties of RNAP. In this review, we discuss newly elucidated roles of guanosine 5'-diphosphate 3'-diphosphate (ppGpp) in transcription elongation that couple this alarmone to DNA damage repair and maintenance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.
authors.forename: Aviram
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rasouly
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.
authors.forename: Bibhusita
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pani
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA. Electronic address: evgeny.nudler@nyumc.org.
authors.forename: Evgeny
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nudler
mesh_terms: D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D004249:DNA Damage / Q000235:genetics; D004260:DNA Repair / Q000235:genetics*; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases / Q000235:genetics*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D004247:DNA; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases
keywords: DNA repair; backtracking; mutation rate; ppGpp; transcription elongation