Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Investigation of Protein Recruitment to DNA Lesions Using 405 Nm Laser Micro-irradiation
Published on: March 20, 2018
SOS-regulated proteins in translesion DNA synthesis and mutagenesis
1Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139, USA.
Abstract:
Studies of Escherichia coli have revealed that most mutagenesis resulting from exposure to UV radiation and various chemicals (SOS mutagenesis) requires the operation of a specialized system involving the UmuD', UmuC, RecA and DNA polymerase III proteins, which allows translesion synthesis to occur on damaged DNA templates. The SOS mutagenesis system is induced by DNA damage and is subject to elaborate regulatory control involving both transcriptional derepression and post-translational activation and inhibition. The implications of the E. coli SOS mutagenesis system for mutagenesis in other organisms are discussed.
Related Concept Videos
Mismatch Repair
Translesion DNA Polymerases
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...
DNA Damage can Stall the Cell Cycle
Single-Strand DNA Binding Proteins
Mismatch Repair
The Mutator Protein Family Plays a Key Role in DNA Mismatch Repair
The human genome has more than 3 billion base pairs of DNA per cell. Prior to cell division, that vast amount of genetic...
DNA Damage Can Stall the Cell Cycle

