DCAFs, the missing link of the CUL4-DDB1 ubiquitin ligase.

The CUL4-DDB1 ubiquitin ligase regulates cell proliferation, survival, DNA repair, and genomic integrity through targeted ubiquitination of key regulators, yet the substrate receptors that dictate the specificity of this ubiquitination machinery have been largely unknown. Recent work identified a family of DDB1 and CUL4-associated factors (DCAFs) as substrate receptors, implicating a broad spectrum of cellular processes regulated by CUL4-DDB1.