DNA repair is regulated by Ubx5
The research group led by Prof. Françoise Stutz from the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology has recently studied the regulatory role of the Ubx5 protein in the access to lesions that damage genetic material.
DNA is under constant threat from potentially deleterious lesions. Cells have therefore developed specific mechanisms for repairing them. Among these alterations are the covalent links between DNA and proteins, also known as DNA-protein crosslinks (DPCs).
By studying baker's yeast, Noireterre et al. show in a paper recently published in the July 3, 2023 issue of The EMBO Journal how the Ubx5 protein regulates and coordinates access to DPCs present on DNA, in order to repair them efficiently.
More specifically, the article shows that Ubx5 coordinates the arrival of the Cdc48 segregase with that of the Wss1 protease, a protein dedicated to the repair of DPCs.