The human ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme UbcH1 is involved in the repair of UV-damaged, alkylated and cross-linked DNA.

The human ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme UbcH1 shows 69% identity to the Saccharomyces cerevisiae RAD6/UBC2 which plays a key role in DNA repair. To examine the function of UbcH1 (formerly named E2, M(r) 17,000), [(1990) EMBO J. 9, 1431-1435]) we tested its ability to functionally substitute for yeast RAD6/UBC2 in the recovery of cells from various DNA damage. Complementation by expression of the human UbcH1 cDNA revealed that the UbcH1 carries out the function of S. cerevisiae RAD6/UBC2 in the repair of UV-damaged, alkylated and cross-linked DNA.