title: Translesion Synthesis: Insights into the Selection and Switching of DNA Polymerases.
abstract: DNA replication is constantly challenged by DNA lesions, noncanonical DNA structures and difficult-to-replicate DNA sequences. Two major strategies to rescue a stalled replication fork and to ensure continuous DNA synthesis are: (1) template switching and recombination-dependent DNA synthesis; and (2) translesion synthesis (TLS) using specialized DNA polymerases to perform nucleotide incorporation opposite DNA lesions. The former pathway is mainly error-free, and the latter is error-prone and a major source of mutagenesis. An accepted model of translesion synthesis involves DNA polymerase switching steps between a replicative DNA polymerase and one or more TLS DNA polymerases. The mechanisms that govern the selection and exchange of specialized DNA polymerases for a given DNA lesion are not well understood. In this review, recent studies concerning the mechanisms of selection and switching of DNA polymerases in eukaryotic systems are summarized.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI 48859, USA. linlin.zhao@cmich.edu.|Science of Advanced Materials Program, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI 48859, USA. linlin.zhao@cmich.edu.
authors.forename: Linlin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. todd-washington@uiowa.edu.
authors.forename: M Todd
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Washington
keywords: DNA damage; DNA lesion bypass; DNA polymerase; genomic instability; mutagenesis; translesion synthesis