ERCC1-XPF endonuclease-positioned tocut.

Abstract

To counteract damage to our genomes, numerous endo‐ and exonucleases incise the DNA backbone to remove damaged and aberrant DNA structures. It is imperative that such incisions be very tightly controlled, as unwanted DNA breaks are a key source of genome instability. Two new papers in The EMBO Journal shed light on how the activity of one such nuclease—ERCC1‐XPF, an enzyme involved in various DNA repair pathways—is regulated to perform incision in the vicinity of DNA interstrand crosslinks.