DNA replication

Madison Adolph, PhD, left, David Cortez, PhD, and Archana Krishnamoorthy are studying fundamental processes involved in DNA replication.
July 22, 2021

Researchers discover that protein switches functions to regulate DNA replication

Vanderbilt biochemists have discovered what the DNA damage response protein RADX does — and how it does it.

By Leigh MacMillan
June 18, 2020

Probing DNA damage repair

After discovering a new mechanism for DNA damage repair last year, Vanderbilt biochemists now provide direct evidence for how it works.

By Leigh MacMillan
October 21, 2019

Completing DNA synthesis

James Dewar and colleagues have identified a role for the enzyme topoisomerase II in reducing replication errors during the final stage of DNA synthesis.

By Leigh MacMillan
October 3, 2019

A catalog of DNA replication proteins

Vanderbilt scientists have identified 593 proteins that are enriched at sites of DNA duplication and chromatin packaging of newly synthesized DNA.

By Leigh MacMillan
March 14, 2019

Correctly copying DNA

A precise understanding of how the enzyme topoisomerase II cuts DNA could lead to better anti-cancer therapies.

By Sanjay Mishra
Kareem Mohni, PhD, left, and David Cortez, PhD, have discovered a new DNA repair pathway that guards against genomic mutations.
February 28, 2019

Novel DNA repair mechanism preserves genome integrity: study

Biochemistry investigators at Vanderbilt have discovered a new DNA repair mechanism that prevents gene mutations during DNA replication.

By Leigh MacMillan
January 17, 2019

DNA’s on/off switch

DNA-binding “switches” represent a fundamentally new method of communication between DNA-processing enzymes, Vanderbilt researchers propose.
By Bill Snyder
August 2, 2018

Genetic balancing act

New findings about proteins involved in DNA repair are important for understanding why some cancers are more or less resistant to certain therapies.
By Meredith Jackson
June 12, 2017

Repriming replication roadblocks

New findings shed light on how enzymes that replicate DNA skip over mutations that might cause cancer and restart DNA synthesis further away.
By Sanjay Mishra
February 23, 2017

Team identifies ‘switch’ involved in DNA replication  

DNA replication is an extraordinarily complex multi-step process that makes copies of the body’s genetic blueprint. It is necessary for growth and essential to life. Now researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Vanderbilt University have found evidence that one of those steps may involve the telephone-like transmission of electrical signals regulated by a chemical “switch.”
By Bill Snyder
October 21, 2016

DNA damage response protein

Vanderbilt researchers have determined that a previously uncharacterized protein responds to DNA replication stress and has an essential role in maintaining the integrity of the genome.
By Bill Snyder
April 15, 2016

Mechanism of a DNA repair protein

Vanderbilt investigators have discovered details about the mechanism of an important DNA repair protein that maintains genome stability.
By Sanjay Mishra
January 8, 2016

Copying chromosome caps

Telomeres – the caps on the end of chromosomes – are a source of stress for a particular protein involved in copying DNA, a new study reports.
By Leigh MacMillan