DNA GLYCOSYLASE ENZYME AND ITS

FUNCTION IN DNA REPAIR

AUTHORS NAME- SOMYA, TABINDA, VARSHA, DINESH KUMAR PRAJAPATI*

DEPARTMENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
INVERTIS INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (IIET)
Invertis Village, Bareilly-Lucknow NH24, Bareilly

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR-
The base excision repair machinery protects DNA in cells from the damaging effects of
oxidation, alkylation, and deamination; it is specialized to fix single-base damage in the form of
small chemical modifications. Base modifications can be mutagenic and/or cytotoxic, depending
on how they interfere with the template function of the DNA during replication and
transcription

DNA glycosylase are a family of enzymes that are basically responsible for for the base excision
repair, that are classified under EC NUMBER 3.2.2 . Base excision repair is the mechanism by
which the damaged base pairs in the DNA are repaired and replaced as per the correct base
pair.

DNA glycosylases play a key role in the elimination of such DNA lesions; they recognize and
excise damaged bases, thereby initiating a repair process that restores the regular DNA
structure with high accuracy. All glycosylases share a common mode of action for damage
recognition; they flip bases out of the DNA helix into a selective active site pocket, the
architecture of which permits a sensitive detection of even minor base irregularities. Within the
past few years, it has become clear that nature has exploited this ability to read the chemical
structure of DNA bases for purposes other than canonical DNA repair. DNA glycosylases have
been brought into context with molecular processes relating to innate and adaptive immunity
as well as to the control of DNA methylation and epigenetic stability. Here, we summarize the
key structural and mechanistic features of DNA glycosylases with a special focus on the
mammalian enzymes, and then review the evidence for the newly emerging biological functions
beyond the protection of genome integrity.