Tools to study DNA repair: what's in the box?

Our understanding of the DNA repair mechanisms that preserve genome integrity has increased greatly in recent years. To follow the DNA repair process, researchers have developed sophisticated techniques including live cell imaging, local damage induction and refined biochemical assays. These techniques have helped to elucidate the ‘orchestration’ of DNA repair mechanisms (i.e. the order of factor assembly around the lesion, the identification of new functions of known factors and the discovery of novel key regulators involved in DNA repair). We will discuss the uses and the limitations of these methods and their applications in the study of DNA repair.