Learning How to Read ADP-Ribosylation

ADP-ribosylation is a posttranslational modification that is emerging as a broadly used mechanism to regulate the functions of proteins and their interactions. Recent findings by three groups (Ahel et al., 2009; Gottschalk et al., 2009; Timinszky et al., 2009) establish that proteins with macrodomains bind poly-ADP-ribose to mediate the cellular response to DNA damage.