“…A possible interpretation of the data could be that the extremely high UV-induced death rate in the embryos with the XP/CS mutations is mainly caused by UV-induced strand displacement in XP/CS cells ( Godon et al, 2012 ), whereas the modestly elevated rates seen in most XP and TTD mutants might reflect reduced NER. Interestingly, in cases where the human fibroblast lines allow an assessment of survival for a specific allele (R683W, R112H, R722W and possibly R601L, see below), similar UV sensitivities have been reported for XP and TTD mutants to those we see here (5×–12× elevated; Lehmann et al, 1988 ; Ichihashi et al, 1988 ; Broughton et al, 1994 ; Takayama et al, 1995 ; Takayama et al, 1996 ). The fibroblast line with the R601L allele carries, as the second allele, the D234N mutation.…”