[Uracil in DNA]

Abstract

The data confirming the formation of dUMP residues in DNA to be a continuous process taking place in the living cells are reviewed. All living organisms produce specific enzymes repairing the lesion of this type. The possible ways for uracil incorporation into DNA are described. The main of them are as follows: cytosine deamination in DNA molecules and utilization of dUTP by DNA polymerases during replication. The spontaneous mutability, the decrease in chain length of the newly synthesized DNA and the increase in recombination frequencies are discussed as possible consequences of this phenomenon.