This gene encodes an endo/exonuclease with 5'-3' exonuclease activity. The encoded enzyme catalyzes the hydrolysis of ester linkages at the 5' end of a nucleic acid chain. This enzyme is localized to the mitochondria and may play a role in programmed cell death. Alternatively spliced transcript variants have been described. A pseudogene exists on chromosome 18. [provided by RefSeq, Feb 2009].
Tann, Boldogh, Meiss, Qian, Van Houten, Mitra, Szczesny: "Apoptosis induced by persistent single-strand breaks in mitochondrial genome: critical role of EXOG (5'-EXO/endonuclease) in their repair." in: The Journal of biological chemistry, Vol. 286, Issue 37, pp. 31975-83, (2011) (PubMed).