The recent discovery of genes encoding DNA repair, recombination, and cell cycle control proteins has opened a window for understanding how biological systems cope with DNA damage. This window has been opened further as information from several completely sequenced genomes gives us a larger picture of the number of proteins that repair, protect, or otherwise care for the genome.

Cellular responses to DNA damage include cell cycle checkpoints and repair processes that act coordinately, prior to, during and after DNA replication, to maintain genomic stability. Cellular machinery involved in protecting and repairing DNA consists of proteins and protein complexes that constitute multiple biochemical pathways, many of which we are just beginning to understand. Knowledge concerning these proteins is crucial to the understanding of human health, as defects in related processes have been directly associated with disease susceptibility, particularly cancer proneness.

Our Biology Program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory integrates functional genomics, mammalian genetics, protein biochemistry, molecular biology, structure determination and computational approaches to understand the mechanisms of DNA repair.

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