Genome Stability by DNA Polymerase β in Neural Progenitors Contributes to Neuronal Differentiation in Cortical Development.

DNA repair is crucial for genome stability in the developing cortex, as somatic mutations cause neurological disorders. However, how DNA repair contributes to neuronal development is largely unknown. To address this issue, we studied the spatiotemporal roles of DNA polymerase β (Polβ), a key enzyme in DNA base excision repair pathway, in the developing cortex using distinct forebrain-specific conditional knock-out mice, β and β mice.