Abstract
MutY and its human ortholog, MUTYH, repair a specific form of DNA damage: adenine mis-paired with the oxidatively modified form of deoxyguanosine, 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine. In a recent issue of Chemistry & Biology, Brinkmeyer et al. utilized mutant forms of MutY to reveal the critical residues in MutY that are required for this selectivity and specificity.