Bias meaning and usage

Question

Hi all,Can some one explain me this.I didn't get the part where bias is mentioned.What is the meaning of bias in favor of.Transcription-coupled nucleotide excision repair has helpedexplain the observed bias in mutations caused by mutagenssuch as UV light in favor of the nontranscribed strand

Mr Wordy · Accepted Answer

To me it's unclear. It could mean that fewer mutations occur in the nontranscribed strand, or it could mean that more occur. The author is probably assuming that the reader already knows which it is.

Reallife · Answer

Here is the whole paragraph.

''If separation of DNA strands increases the risk of hydrolytic
deamination, cellular processes such as transcription, replication,
conjugation, and recombination have the potential of
promoting C to T mutations. For example, in a simple model
for transcription elongation, the nontranscribed strand should
be transiently in single-strand form when the transcription
bubble passes through. Such potential deamination risk for
cytosines in the nontranscribed strand during transcription has
been noted before (17–20), but has not been investigated in
depth. A possible reason for this inattention is the existence of
strand bias in nucleotide excision repair. In E. coli (21) and in
mammalian cells (22), transcription-blocking lesions are repaired
preferentially when present in the transcribed strand.
Transcription-coupled nucleotide excision repair has helped
explain the observed bias in mutations caused by mutagens
such as UV light in favor of the nontranscribed strand (23–25),
and has raised the possibility that all observations of strand
bias in mutations may be explained by strand bias in DNA
repair. In fact, Skandalis et al. (19) have argued that there is
a strand bias in 5meC to T mutations in the human hprt gene
and have suggested that this is the result of strand bias in a base
excision repair process that repairs T:G mismatches.''

Bias meaning and usage

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