Study unveils structural details of enzyme vital to DNA repair

"Every creature has it," Tainer said. "It's a very ancient system of maintaining the integrity of DNA. That has been one of the striking things of our research that these same biochemical mechanisms appear to be maintained throughout the course of evolution."

The first authors of the study, Mre11 Dimers Coordinate DNA End Bridging and Nuclease Processing in Double Strand Break Repair, are R. Scott Williams and Gabriel Moncalian of The Scripps Research Institute. In addition to Tainer, Russell, Williams, and Moncalian, other authors of the study include David S. Shin, Chiharu Hitomi, Davide Moiani, Jessica S. Williams, Yoshiki Yamada, Oliver Limbo, Lynda M. Groocock, and Grant Guenther of Scripps Research; and Dana Cahill and James P. Carney of the University of Maryland School of Medicine. For more information, see Cell at http://www.cell.com/content/article/abstract?uid=PIIS0092867408010623 .

The study was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research, The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology at Scripps Research, the Uehara Memorial Foundation fellowship, the National Cancer Institute and the U.S. Department of Energy and MAGGIE (Molecular Assemblies, Genes, and Genomics Integrated Efficiently).

About The Scripps Research Institute

The Scripps Research Institute is one of the world's largest independent, non-profit biomedical research organizations, at the forefront of basic biomedical science that seeks to comprehend the most fundamental processes of life. Scripps Research is internationally recognized for its discoveries in immunology, molecular and cellular biology, chemistry, neurosciences, autoimmune, cardiovascular, and infectious diseases, and synthetic vaccine development. Established in its current configuration in 1961, it employs approximately 3,000 scientists, postdoctoral fellows, scientific and other technicians, doctoral degree graduate students, and administrative and technical support personnel. Scripps Research is headquartered in La Jolla, California. It also includes Scripps Florida, whose researchers focus on basic biomedical science, drug discovery, and technology development. Currently operating from temporary facilities in Jupiter, Scripps Florida will move to its permanent campus by 2009.