Genome Integrity Facets and Perspectives [Paperback]

This is the first book to give a full overview on genome integrity in different species. From microorganisms to humans, this volume provides an interdisciplinary overview of how genome integrity is maintained. Written by an international panel of experts, the book addresses the connection between genome integrity and human disease.

Cells and viruses maintain a genome capable of multiplication, variation and heredity. A genome consists of chromosomes, each being built up of two complementary strands of nucleic acid known as DNA. Its chemical integrity, however, is under constant assault from metabolic mutagens, such as hydroxy-radicals, endonucleases, radiation, replication errors, and environmental mutagens. From microorganisms to humans, this volume provides an interdisciplinary overview of how genome integrity is maintained. The volume begins with DNA replication and continues with replicative DNA repair and pleiotropic protein interactions. Examples of human diseases are included and the cellular responses to radiation and genotoxic stress affecting whole genomes are reviewed.

Replication.- Chromosomal DNA Replication: On Replicases, Replisomes, and Bidirectional Replication Factories.- Progress Towards the Anatomy of the Eukaryotic DNA Replication Fork.- DNA Polymerases and Diseases.- Replicative Double-Strand Break Repair.- Facing Stalled Replication Forks: The Intricacies of Doing the Right Thing.- Germline Double-Strand Break Repair and Gene Targeting in Drosophila: A?Trajectory System throughout Evolution.- Facets of Double-Strand Break Repair.- Structure and Function of Rad50/SMC Protein Complexes in Chromosome Biology.- Mechanisms of Non-Homologous DNA End Joining:Aspects of In Vitro Assays.- Role of p53 in Double-Strand Break Repair.- The Role of Chromatin Structure and Nuclear Architecture in the Cellular Response to DNA Double-Strand Breaks.- DNA Repair and Pleiotropic Interactions.- DNA Base Damage Recognition and Prl³Ò