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Related Concept Videos

Fixing Double-strand Breaks02:04

Fixing Double-strand Breaks

The double-stranded structure of DNA has two major advantages. First, it serves as a safe repository of genetic information where one strand serves as the back-up in case the other strand is damaged. Second, the double-helical structure can be wrapped around proteins called histones to form nucleosomes, which can then be tightly wound to form chromosomes. This way, DNA chains up to 2 inches long can be contained within microscopic structures in a cell. A double-stranded break not only damages...
Fixing Double-strand Breaks02:04

Fixing Double-strand Breaks

The double-stranded structure of DNA has two major advantages. First, it serves as a safe repository of genetic information where one strand serves as the back-up in case the other strand is damaged. Second, the double-helical structure can be wrapped around proteins called histones to form nucleosomes, which can then be tightly wound to form chromosomes. This way, DNA chains up to 2 inches long can be contained within microscopic structures in a cell. A double-stranded break not only damages...
Genome Copying Errors02:46

Genome Copying Errors

DNA replication is a well-evolved process that copies millions of base pairs with high fidelity during each cell division. Occasionally a wrong base or a long stretch of wrong bases may get added to the daughter strands. If the errors are left unchecked, cells might accumulate several mutations that might endanger their  survival. Therefore, the copying errors are checked and repaired at three levels.
DNA Damage can Stall the Cell Cycle02:36

DNA Damage can Stall the Cell Cycle

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...
DNA Damage Can Stall the Cell Cycle02:36

DNA Damage Can Stall the Cell Cycle

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...
Overview of DNA Repair02:25

Overview of DNA Repair

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...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 22, 2026

Detection of DNA Breaks in Dividing Human Cells by Neutral Comet Assay
05:55

Detection of DNA Breaks in Dividing Human Cells by Neutral Comet Assay

Published on: August 23, 2024

Genome instability triggers intercellular DNA transfer between human cells.

Elizabeth G Maurais1, Alice Mazzagatti1, Yu-Fen Lin1

  • 1Children's Medical Center Research Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA; Department of Pathology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA.

Cell
|May 20, 2026
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Genomic instability causes DNA to move outside the nucleus, transferring between human cells via nanotubes. This horizontal gene transfer reshapes mammalian genomes and confers new traits.

Keywords:
DNA damagechromothripsiscytoplasmic DNAecDNAgenomic instabilityhorizontal gene transferintercellular transfermicronucleimitosistunneling nanotubes

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Quantitation and Analysis of the Formation of HO-Endonuclease Stimulated Chromosomal Translocations by Single-Strand Annealing in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

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Visualizing and Quantifying Endonuclease-Based Site-Specific DNA Damage
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Visualizing and Quantifying Endonuclease-Based Site-Specific DNA Damage

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Last Updated: May 22, 2026

Detection of DNA Breaks in Dividing Human Cells by Neutral Comet Assay
05:55

Detection of DNA Breaks in Dividing Human Cells by Neutral Comet Assay

Published on: August 23, 2024

Quantitation and Analysis of the Formation of HO-Endonuclease Stimulated Chromosomal Translocations by Single-Strand Annealing in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
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Quantitation and Analysis of the Formation of HO-Endonuclease Stimulated Chromosomal Translocations by Single-Strand Annealing in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

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Visualizing and Quantifying Endonuclease-Based Site-Specific DNA Damage
10:59

Visualizing and Quantifying Endonuclease-Based Site-Specific DNA Damage

Published on: August 21, 2021

Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Genetics
  • Genomics

Background:

  • The mammalian genome is protected within the nucleus during interphase.
  • Genomic instability can lead to DNA mislocalization into the cytoplasm (micronuclei or fragmented chromosomes).
  • The non-cell-autonomous effects of cytoplasmic DNA on neighboring cells are largely unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether cytoplasmic DNA can be transferred between adjacent cells.
  • To determine the mechanism and consequences of intercellular DNA transfer.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized various genomic instability inducers (mitotic spindle poisons, ionizing radiation, Cas9).
  • Observed intercellular DNA transfer via contact-dependent, cytoskeleton-based nanotube structures.
  • Analyzed DNA fragment inheritance and phenotypic changes in recipient cells.

Main Results:

  • Cytoplasmic DNA undergoes intercellular transfer through nanotubes connecting human cells.
  • This transfer occurs in both cancerous and non-cancerous cells under diverse genomic instability conditions.
  • Transferred DNA fragments are inherited as extrachromosomal elements, conferring heritable phenotypic traits.

Conclusions:

  • Direct cell-cell contact facilitates a horizontal gene transfer-like mechanism for propagating genomic instability.
  • Intercellular DNA transfer via nanotubes can reshape mammalian genomes and alter recipient cell phenotypes.
  • This pathway highlights a novel non-cell-autonomous consequence of genomic instability.