Table 1.

Examples of genome-protective functions of DNA polymerase θ

Function	Examples of organisms studied
Reduces the frequency of unrepaired chromosome breaks, both spontaneous and radiation-induceda	Human, mouse
Resistance to agents causing double-strand breaksb	Animals, plants
Protection against large deletionsc	Nematode, Drosophila
Rescuing lethality of double-strand breaks during developmentd	Zebrafish, Drosophila, plants
Suppression of mutagenic interhomolog recombination and mitotic crossovere	Mammalian cells, Drosophila

^aMicronuclei (36, 85, 100), γ-H2AX foci (43).

^bTopoisomerase inhibitors (21, 110, 123), ionizing radiation (36, 43, 123), bleomycin/Zeocin (53, 82, 123), interstrand crosslinking agents (2, 14, 49).

^cCaenorhabditis elegans (90), Drosophila (9).

^dZebrafish (105), Drosophila (3, 25), Arabidopsis and rice (49, 78, 79, 107).

^eMammalian cells (29), Drosophila (17).