Collisions during DNA replication and transcription contribute to mutagenesis
Wednesday, June 29, 2016 - 15:41
in Biology & Nature
When a cell makes copies of DNA and translates its genetic code into proteins at the same time, the molecular machinery that carries on replication and the one that transcribes the DNA to the mRNA code move along the same DNA double strand as their respective processes take place. Sometimes replication and transcription proceed on the same direction, but sometimes the processes are in a collision course. Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Wisconsin have determined that these collisions can significantly contribute to mutagenesis. Their results appear today in Nature.