Richard D. Wood

Who is Richard D. Wood?

Richard D. Wood is an American molecular biologist specializing in research on DNA repair and mutation. He is known for pioneering studies on nucleotide excision repair, particularly for reconstituting the minimum set of proteins involved in this process, identifying proliferating cell nuclear antigen as part of the NER complex and identifying mammalian repair polymerases.

In humans, mutations affecting the NER DNA repair pathway cause the disease xeroderma pigmentosum or XP. Normal UV and sunlight exposure generates DNA mutations in epidermal cells that must be continually repaired through NER. XP patients are particularly sensitive to sun exposure and generally must stay indoors during the day, using heavy sunscreens to prevent skin damage and susceptibility to skin cancer. NER occurs through a programmed set of steps that includes recognition of the damaged site, nicking the DNA at upstream and downstream sites, excising the damaged DNA, then filling in the single-stranded DNA gap using a polymerase, with the opposite strand serving as a template for the proper sequence for the repair patch.