Research Progress of a Switch Gene in Response to Extreme Ionizing Radiation

Ionizing radiation exists widely in Earth and space, causing DNA damage and leading to mutation and even cell death. DNA damage response is essential for maintaining the integrity of genome. Deinococcus radiodurans is one of the model organisms for studying DNA damage repair due to its extraordinary DNA repair ability. PprI-DdrO system is a distinct and efficient damage response pathway in Deinococcus, in which PprI acts as an important switch regulating DNA damage response genes by cleavage of DdrO. This review discusses the research progresses of PprI from aspects of function, structure, activation mechanisms and applications.