The Role of DNA Repair Enzymes in Maintaining Genome Stability
Abstract
Endogenous metabolic processes and exogenous environmental factors always test the integrity of the genome of the organism, and it is estimated that there is two million DNA damaging events per cell per day [1]. These myriads insults may cause a wide range of DNA lesions, including subtle base modifications to disastrous double-strand breaks, all of which are very dangerous to the genomic stability when they are not repaired [2], [3]. Single cell in a human being may experience approximately 105 events of DNA-damaging per day, which would lead to the culmination of approximately 1016 to 1018 repair events per day in an entire organism to counter all these endogenous lesions [4]. This sustained attack demands complex and high robust network of DNA repair that has evolved to detect, signal, and repair different forms of DNA damage, to protect genetic data and cellular homeostasis [5].
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