ArticleScience (New York, N.Y.)2025
The specificity and structure of DNA cross-linking by the gut bacterial genotoxin colibactin.
Article in Science (New York, N.Y.), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- A genotoxin associated with colorectal cancer linked to gut dysbiosis in children with cystic fibrosis.Journal of bacteriology · 2026Article
- Frequent Detection of Abasic Sites andChemical research in toxicology · 2026Article
- Colibactin-associated mutations in the human colon appear to reflect anatomy and early exposure, not oncogenesis.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Cross-linking gut bacteria to cancer.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2026Article
- Gut microbiota in esophageal cancer: mechanisms, clinical implications, and therapeutic potential.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Review
- Colibactin produced by a honeybee symbiont defends against pathogens and shapes the gut community.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- The specificity and structure of DNA cross-linking by the gut bacterial genotoxin colibactin.Science (New York, N.Y.) · 2025Article
- A genotoxin associated with colorectal cancer linked to gut dysbiosis in children with cystic fibrosis.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
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14 authors.
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Abstract
Accumulating evidence has connected the chemically unstable, DNA-damaging gut bacterial natural product colibactin to colorectal cancer, including the identification of mutational signatures that are thought to arise from colibactin-DNA interstrand cross-links (ICLs). However, we currently lack direct information regarding the structure of this lesion. In this work, we combined mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to elucidate the specificity and structure of the colibactin-DNA ICL. We found that colibactin alkylates within the minor groove of adenine- and thymine-rich DNA, explaining the origins of mutational signatures. Unexpectedly, we discovered that the chemically unstable central motif of colibactin mediates the sequence specificity of cross-linking. By directly elucidating colibactin's interactions with DNA, this work enhances our understanding of the structure and genotoxic mechanisms of this cancer-linked gut bacterial natural product.
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