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DNA primase is an enzyme involved in the replication of DNA and is a type of RNA polymerase.Primase catalyzes the synthesis of a short RNA (or DNA in some living organisms [1]) segment called a primer complementary to a ssDNA (single-stranded DNA) template.
The E. Coli DnaG primase is a 581 residue monomeric protein with three functional domains, according to proteolysis studies. There is an N-terminal Zinc-binding domain (residues 1–110) where a zinc ion is tetrahedrally coordinated between one histidine and three cysteine residues, which plays a role in recognizing sequence specific DNA binding sites.
Along the DNA template, primase intersperses RNA primers that DNA polymerase uses to synthesize DNA from in the 5′→3′ direction. [1] Another example of primers being used to enable DNA synthesis is reverse transcription. Reverse transcriptase is an enzyme that uses a template strand of RNA to synthesize a complementary strand of DNA.
From there, the RNA acts as a template for complementary RNA synthesis. The complementary strand acts as a template for the production of new viral genomes that are packaged and released from the cell ready to infect more host cells. The advantage of this method of replication is that no DNA stage complicates replication.
This gene encodes the p180 catalytic subunit of DNA polymerase α-primase. Pol α has limited processivity and lacks 3′ exonuclease activity for proofreading errors. Thus it is not well suited to efficiently and accurately copy long templates (unlike Pol Delta and Epsilon). Instead it plays a more limited role in replication.
DnaA is a protein that activates initiation of DNA replication in bacteria. [1] Based on the Replicon Model, a positively active initiator molecule contacts with a particular spot on a circular chromosome called the replicator to start DNA replication. [2]
On the template strand, polymerase will synthesize in the opposite direction from the replication fork. Once the template becomes discontinuous, it will create an Okazaki fragment. Defects in the maturation of Okazaki fragments can potentially cause strands in the DNA to break and cause different forms of chromosome abnormality.
A helicase–primase complex (also helicase-primase, Hel/Prim, H-P or H/P) is a complex of enzymes including DNA helicase and DNA primase. A helicase-primase associated factor protein may also be present. [1] The complex is used by herpesviruses, in which it is responsible for lytic DNA virus replication.