Yang Gao and Chuxuan Li (IMAGE)

Rice University

Yang Gao and Chuxuan Li

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Rice University bioscientists Yang Gao and Chuxuan Li discovered the structural basis of “microhomology-mediated end joining” (MMEJ), the process that enzyme "DNA polymerase theta" (Pol theta) uses to repair DNA double-strand breaks. Gao, Li and colleagues from Memphis, Tennessee's St. Jude Children's Research Hospital discovered the enzyme uses unique insertion loops to help stabilize short DNA binding as it prepares a site for MMEJ repair. That understanding could be useful to researchers who are investigating Pol theta as a possible drug target for precision breast cancer therapy.

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Credit: Gustavo Raskosky/Rice University

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Must credit: Gustavo Raskosky/Rice University

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