Definition for Nonhomologous end joining
From Biology Forums Dictionary
Nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) is an error-prone repair process that repairs double-strand breaks occurring before DNA replication. If a double-stranded break damages a eukaryotic chromosome during G1 of the cell cycle, replication of the damaged chromosome is blocked. Completion of NHEJ produces an intact DNA duplex and allows replication across the repaired region in the upcoming replication cycle, but the repair is often imperfect because resection removes nucleotides that cannot be replaced. While NHEJ is error prone, it prevents more extensive loss from degradation of unprotected ends. Mutations can be generated, however, when nucleotides are lost by transcribed genes.
