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Nature Cell Biology 8, 303–305 (1 April 2006) | doi:10.1038/ncb0406-303

Deubiquitinating PCNA: a downside to DNA damage tolerance

Helle D. Ulrich

DNA damage-tolerance mechanisms are essential for a cell's resistance to genotoxic agents as they ensure that its genetic material can be replicated, even when it is damaged. DNA lesions that would normally stall the replication machinery can be bypassed in a process called translesion synthesis (TLS), which uses specialized, damage-tolerant DNA polymerases.