The Road of Discovery and Innovation toward the DNA Repair:the Safeguard Mechanism for Genomic Stability

Genomic DNA is the genetic carrier,and it encodes the information needed to guide the multiplying of all living species,and the growth,development and metabolic activation of organisms.DNA damage occurs momently even under the environmental stress or normal living status. As a principal cellular intrinsic mechanism,DNA repair plays an irreplaceable role in maintaining genomic stability and decreasing the risk of cancer and some other critical human diseases. 2015 Nobel Chemistry Prize has awarded to T Lindahl,A Sancar and P Modrich for their outstanding contributions on DNA repair mechanisms studies. This review focused on three Nobel Prize laureates and their main contributions on the discovery and mechanism delineating of DNA repair pathways. The related three fundamental DNA repair pathways,base excision repair,nucleotide excision repair and mismatch repair were discussed.These three repair pathways are mainly responsible for repairing the DNA damage induced by UV radiation and genotoxic chemicals,such as base damage,pyrimidine dimer,chemical adduct,and the mismatch of base-pair produced during DNA replication. It was also reviewed that the two gainers of 2015 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award and their contributions on discovering how the DNA-damage response protects cells against DNA damage. At last,a brief outlook was made on the development of DNA repair research teams and status in China.