Thymine dimer
You don't need to be Editor-In-Chief to add or edit content to WikiDoc. You can begin to add to or edit text on this WikiDoc page by clicking on the edit button at the top of this page. Next enter or edit the information that you would like to appear here. Once you are done editing, scroll down and click the Save page button at the bottom of the page.
A thymine dimer is the covalent bonding of two adjacent thymine residues within a DNA molecule, often catalyzed by ultraviolet radiation or chemical mutagenic agents. It is an example of a more general type of DNA damage known as pyrimidine dimers which as the name suggests can occur between any adjacent pair of pyrimidine bases (such as between 2 cytosines or a cytosine and uracil). Excision repair enzymes and the DNA repair system can often recognize and repair this type of damage by the large kink in the DNA that it causes. In many organisms (excluding placental mammals such as humans), DNA photolyases can repair the damage directly by cleaving the dimer.
Unrepaired or mis-repaired thymine dimers and the resultant mutations can contribute to the development of skin cancers.
See also
External links
References
- Essen LO, Klar T. (2006). Light-driven DNA repair by photolyases. Cell Mol Life Sci 63 (11), 1266-77.
 | This biochemistry article is a stub. You can help WikiDoc by expanding it. |
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
