Expanding the DNA alphabet in the fruit fly |
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Authors: | András Horváth Angéla Békési Villo Muha Miklós Erdélyi Beáta G. Vértessy |
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Affiliation: | 1.Institute of Enzymology; Research Center for Natural Sciences; Hungarian Academy of Sciences; Budapest, Hungary;2.Institute of Genetics; Research Center for Biological Sciences; Hungarian Academy of Sciences; Szeged, Hungary;3.Department of Applied Biotechnology; Budapest University of Technology and Economics; Budapest, Hungary |
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Abstract: | DNA integrity is under the control of multiple pathways of nucleotide metabolism and DNA damage recognition and repair. Unusual sets of protein factors involved in these control mechanisms may result in tolerance and accumulation of non-canonical bases within the DNA. We investigate the presence of uracil in genomic DNA of Drosophila melanogaster. Results indicate a developmental pattern and strong correlations between uracil-DNA levels, dUTPase expression and developmental fate of different tissues. The intriguing lack of the catalytically most efficient uracil-DNA glycosylase in Drosophila melanogaster may be a general attribute of Holometabola and is suggested to be involved in the specific characteristics of uracil-DNA metabolism in these insects. |
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Keywords: | uracil dUTPase tissue-specific metamorphosis pupating insect |
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