Genomic stability is critical for cell survival and its effective repair when damaged is a vital process for preserving genetic information. Failure to correctly repair the genome can lead to the accumulation of mutations that ultimately drives carcinogenesis. Life has evolved sophisticated surveillance, repair pathways, and mechanisms to recognize and mend genomic lesions to preserve its integrity. Many of these pathways involve a cascade of protein effectors that act to identify the type of damage, such as double-strand (ds) DNA breaks, propagate the damage signal, and recruit an array of other protein factors to resolve the damage without loss of genetic information. It is now becoming increasingly clear that there are a number of RNA processing factors, such as the transcriptional machinery, and microRNA biogenesis components, as well as RNA itself, that facilitate the repair of DNA damage. Here, some of the recent work unravelling the role of RNA in the DNA Damage Response (DDR), in particular the dsDNA break repair pathway, will be reviewed.

基因组稳定性对于细胞存活至关重要，其在受损时的有效修复是保存遗传信息的重要过程。未能正确修复基因组可能导致最终导致致癌的突变积累。生命已经进化出复杂的监测、修复途径和机制来识别和修复基因组病变以保持其完整性。这些途径中的许多都涉及一系列蛋白质效应器，这些效应器用于识别损伤类型，例如双链 (ds) DNA 断裂、传播损伤信号并招募一系列其他蛋白质因子来解决损伤而不损失遗传信息。现在越来越清楚的是，有许多 RNA 加工因子，例如转录机制和 microRNA 生物发生成分，以及促进 DNA 损伤修复的 RNA 本身。在这里，将回顾一些最近的工作，揭示了 RNA 在 DNA 损伤反应 (DDR) 中的作用，特别是 dsDNA 断裂修复途径。