Every 24 hours, every genome in every cell of the human body is damaged 10,000 times or more. Given the possible DNA repair mechanisms, which order listed below would be most effective at repairing these as quickly as possible in order to prevent mutations from being carried forward in DNA replication?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Proofreading by DNA polymerase occurs during DNA replication to correct errors. Glycosylase enzyme activities are part of base excision repair, which fixes small, non-helix-distorting base lesions. Excision repair, including nucleotide excision repair, fixes bulky, helix-distorting lesions. Photoreactivation directly reverses UV-induced damage. SOS repair is a last-resort mechanism in bacteria when damage is extensive. This order prioritizes fixing errors as they occur and addressing more significant damage as needed.

Every 24 Hours, Every Genome in Every Cell of the Human