Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 10, 2026

Atomic Force Microscopy Investigations of DNA Lesion Recognition in Nucleotide Excision Repair
Published on: May 24, 2017
Structural basis for DNA recognition and processing by UvrB
James J Truglio1, Erkan Karakas, Benjamin Rhau
1Department of Pharmacological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794-5115, USA.
Abstract:
DNA-damage recognition in the nucleotide excision repair (NER) cascade is a complex process, operating on a wide variety of damages. UvrB is the central component in prokaryotic NER, directly involved in DNA-damage recognition and guiding the DNA through repair synthesis. We report the first structure of a UvrB-double-stranded DNA complex, providing insights into the mechanism by which UvrB binds DNA, leading to formation of the preincision complex. One DNA strand, containing a 3' overhang, threads behind a beta-hairpin motif of UvrB, indicating that this motif inserts between the strands of the double helix, thereby locking down either the damaged or undamaged strand. The nucleotide directly behind the beta-hairpin is flipped out and inserted into a small, highly conserved pocket in UvrB.
Related Concept Videos
Nucleotide Excision Repair
Nucleotide Excision Repair
Cells are regularly exposed to mutagens—factors in the environment that can damage DNA and generate mutations. UV radiation is one of the most common mutagens and is estimated to introduce a significant number of changes in DNA. These include bends or kinks in the structure, which can block DNA replication or transcription. If these errors are not fixed, the damage can cause mutations, which in turn can result in cancer or disease depending on which sequences are...
Nucleotide Excision Repair
Single-Strand DNA Binding Proteins
Overview of DNA Repair
Chemically...
Mutations
Chromosomal Alterations Are Large-Scale Mutations
While point mutations are changes in a single nucleotide in...

