Host: The Japan Radiation Research Society
In the study of DNA repair and the damage response, the UV damage played an important role as the model damage. Organisms are always exposed to the various type of DNA damage. Studies in this decade have clarified the outline of DNA repair mechanism and damage responses including cell cycle checkpoint, apoptosis and the acquisition of resistant mechanism. UV damage played an important role in these studies both for elucidation of the excision repair mechanism and for the establishment of a new concept in which the common intermediates derived from the process of damage processing, rather than the damage itself, are recognized as the initial signal for damage response. The photoproducts induced by UV is extremely clear. This is one of the reason why the UV damage served as a central role. Another reason is that UV has been a threat for all organisms on the earth from birth of the life to present. The continuing threat is the reason why living organisms completely possesses means against UV, and also suggests that the analysis of the biological response for the UV damage is connected for elucidation of the basic strategy of the organisms for the damage response. The ultraviolet photobiology plays a part in the photobiology, showing another characteristic. Organisms utilize light energy in various ways, as an outside environmental signal and as an energy source. UV is not only the environmental stress but also an important environmental signal. I will summarize the situation of the ultraviolet photobiology from these two viewpoints and want to think about the future prospects.
