Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 13, 2026
10:59
Visualizing and Quantifying Endonuclease-Based Site-Specific DNA Damage
Published on: August 21, 2021
4.1K
Catch the live show: Visualizing damaged DNA in vivo.
Roxanne Oshidari1, Karim Mekhail2
1Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, MaRS Centre, West Tower, 661 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1M1, Canada.
Methods (San Diego, Calif.)
|March 9, 2018
Summary
Understanding DNA repair in living cells is crucial for organism health. This review covers methods to visualize DNA damage and repair dynamics in real-time using advanced live-cell imaging and genome editing techniques.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Cell Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Organismal health is dependent on effective DNA repair mechanisms.
- DNA repair processes are dynamic and require real-time observation.
- Characterizing DNA repair in live cells is essential for understanding cellular responses to damage.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review established and recent methods for inducing DNA damage in live cells.
- To summarize techniques for visualizing DNA damage and repair in real-time.
- To highlight the importance of live-cell imaging for studying DNA repair dynamics.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing advanced genome editing tools.
- Employing live-cell imaging approaches.
- Summarizing methods for inducing and visualizing DNA damage and repair.
Main Results:
- Established methods for DNA damage induction and visualization are presented.
- Recent advancements in live-cell imaging for DNA repair studies are discussed.
- The dynamic nature of DNA repair factors in response to damage is highlighted.
Conclusions:
- Live-cell characterization of DNA repair is vital for understanding cellular health.
- Advanced imaging and genome editing enable real-time visualization of DNA repair.
- This review provides a comprehensive overview of current methodologies in the field.
Related Concept Videos
02:36DNA Damage Can Stall the Cell Cycle
3.2K
In response to DNA damage, cells can pause the cell cycle to assess and repair the breaks. However, the cell must check the DNA at certain critical stages during the cell cycle. If the cell cycle pauses before DNA replication, the cells will contain twice the amount of DNA. On the other hand, if cells arrest after DNA replication but before mitosis, they will contain four times the normal amount of DNA. With a host of specialized proteins at their disposal,cells must use the right protein at...
3.2K
02:36DNA Damage can Stall the Cell Cycle
10.2K
In response to DNA damage, cells can pause the cell cycle to assess and repair the breaks. However, the cell must check the DNA at certain critical stages during the cell cycle. If the cell cycle pauses before DNA replication, the cells will contain twice the amount of DNA. On the other hand, if cells arrest after DNA replication but before mitosis, they will contain four times the normal amount of DNA. With a host of specialized proteins at their disposal,cells must use the right protein at...
10.2K
02:25Overview of DNA Repair
33.9K
In order to be passed through generations, genomic DNA must be undamaged and error-free. However, every day, DNA in a cell undergoes several thousand to a million damaging events by natural causes and external factors. Ionizing radiation such as UV rays, free radicals produced during cellular respiration, and hydrolytic damage from metabolic reactions can alter the structure of DNA. Damages caused include single-base alteration, base dimerization, chain breaks, and cross-linkage.
Chemically...
Chemically...
33.9K
02:10Translesion DNA Polymerases
11.3K
Translesion (TLS) polymerases rescue stalled DNA polymerases at sites of damaged bases by replacing the replicative polymerase and installing a nucleotide across the damaged site. Doing so, TLS allows additional time for the cell to repair the damage before resuming regular DNA replication.
TLS polymerases are found in all three domains of life - archaea, bacteria, and eukaryotes. Of the different classes of TLS polymerases, members of the Y family are fitted with specialized structures that...
TLS polymerases are found in all three domains of life - archaea, bacteria, and eukaryotes. Of the different classes of TLS polymerases, members of the Y family are fitted with specialized structures that...
11.3K
02:02DNA Topoisomerases
35.9K
Topoisomerases are enzymes that relax overwound DNA molecules during various cell processes, including DNA replication and transcription. These enzymes regulate positive and negative DNA supercoiling without changing the nucleotide sequence. DNA overwinding in a clockwise direction results in positively supercoiled DNA, whereas underwinding in a counterclockwise direction produces negatively supercoiled DNA.
Types and Mechanism of action
Topoisomerases are divided into two main types. ...
Types and Mechanism of action
Topoisomerases are divided into two main types. ...
35.9K
00:55DNA Helicases
24.2K
DNA unwinding helicase enzymes are a type of motor protein. Motor proteins can translocate along filaments or polymers using energy generated from ATP hydrolysis. Helicases are involved in all the important cellular processes where DNA unwinding is required, such as DNA replication, repair, recombination, and transcription. They are present in all living organisms, but vary in their structure, function, and mechanism of action. For example, in prokaryotes, DnaB helicase binds and translocates...
24.2K