8-hydroxyguanine is a form of oxidative DNA damage where free radicals cause G:C to T:A transversions within the backbone. In E. coli, three DNA repair enzymes exist to prevent the mutagenic effects of 8-hydroxyguanine mutations. One of these enzymes, Ogg1, was found to have both functional yeast (yOgg1) and human (hOgg1) homologues. These hOgg1 proteins efficiently release the 8-hydroxyguanine through cleavage.
