The biological impact of any DNA damaging agent is a combined function
of the chemical nature of the induced lesions and the efficiency and
accuracy of their repair. Although much has been learned from microbes
and mammals about both the repair of DNA damage and the biological ef
fects of the persistence of these lesions, much remains to be learned
about the mechanism and tissue-specificity of repair in plants. This r
eview focuses on recent work on the induction and repair of DNA damage
in higher plants, with special emphasis on UV-induced DNA damage prod
ucts.