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. 1994 Jul;14(7):4878–4888. doi: 10.1128/mcb.14.7.4878

Structural and functional conservation of the human homolog of the Schizosaccharomyces pombe rad2 gene, which is required for chromosome segregation and recovery from DNA damage.

J M Murray 1, M Tavassoli 1, R al-Harithy 1, K S Sheldrick 1, A R Lehmann 1, A M Carr 1, F Z Watts 1
PMCID: PMC358860  PMID: 8007985

Abstract

The rad2 mutant of Schizosaccharomyces pombe is sensitive to UV irradiation and deficient in the repair of UV damage. In addition, it has a very high degree of chromosome loss and/or nondisjunction. We have cloned the rad2 gene and have shown it to be a member of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae RAD2/S. pombe rad13/human XPG family. Using degenerate PCR, we have cloned the human homolog of the rad2 gene. Human cDNA has 55% amino acid sequence identity to the rad2 gene and is able to complement the UV sensitivity of the rad2 null mutant. We have thus isolated a novel human gene which is likely to be involved both in controlling the fidelity of chromosome segregation and in the repair of UV-induced DNA damage. Its involvement in two fundamental processes for maintaining chromosomal integrity suggests that it is likely to be an important component of cancer avoidance mechanisms.

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Selected References

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