What is the relationship between Uracil and Uracil-DNA glycosylase?

Uracil is an important component of RNA and is closely related to the transmission of genetic traits. Uracil can be used to repair and select large-scale DNA sequence deletions. Reconstruction of the pBR322 replication regulatory region cloned into M13tg131 is an example of large-scale DNA deletion mutagenesis using the uracil repair system. A fragment of 116 nucleotides was excised using oligonucleotide primers, and four nucleotides were introduced to form a BglII restriction site. The use of uracil repair selection increased the efficiency of deletion mutagenesis by 30 times.

Uracil is also a component of several coenzymes, such as Uracil-DNA glycosylase (UDG). Uracil-DNA glycosylase is an enzyme that repairs uracil-containing DNA damage and is essential for maintaining genome stability. UDG hydrolyzes the N-glycosidic bond between the uracil base and deoxyribose to initiate uracil excision repair. Uracil may appear in DNA due to its direct incorporation (towards A in the template) or due to cytosine deamination. Mycobacteria with G, C-rich genomes are inherently at high risk for cytosine deamination. Therefore, UDG activity is essential for the survival of mycobacteria. UDG can also be used in high-throughput screening for the development of uracil DNA glycosylase inhibitors.

References:

[1] Distance-based paper device coupled with uracil-rich DNA hydrogel for visual quantification of Uracil-DNA glycosylase[J]. Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 2024. DOI:10.1016/j.bios.2024.116687.

[2] I I SHEKHTER. [Use of uracil-repair selection for extensive DNA sequence deletions].[J]. Bioorganicheskaia khimiia, 1991.

[3] AVANI MEHTA . Use of a molecular beacon based fluorescent method for assaying uracil DNA glycosylase (Ung) activity and inhibitor screening[J]. Biochemistry and Biophysics Reports, 2021. DOI:10.1016/j.bbrep.2021.100954.

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