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Keyword: DNA polymerase |
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DNA polymerase is an enzyme that catalyzes the polymerization of deoxyribonucleotides into a DNA strand. DNA polymerase can add free nucleotides to only the 3' end of the newly-forming strand. This results in elongation of the new strand in a 5'-3' direction.
DNA polymerase can add a nucleotide onto only a preexisting 3'-OH group, and, therefore, needs a primer at which it can add the first nucleotide. Error correction is a property of some, but not all, DNA polymerases. This process corrects mistakes in newly-synthesized DNA. When an incorrect base pair is recognized, DNA polymerase reverses its direction by one base pair of DNA. The 3'-5' exonuclease activity of the enzyme allows the incorrect base pair to be excised (this activity is known as proofreading). Following base excision, the polymerase can re-insert the correct base and replication can continue. DNA polymerases have highly-conserved structure, which means that their overall catalytic subunits vary, on a whole, very little from species to species. Conserved structures usually indicate important, irreplaceable functions of the cell, the maintenance of which provides evolutionary advantages. Based on sequence homology, DNA polymerases can be further subdivided into seven different families: A, B, C, D, X, Y, and RT. |
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