Title
Priming the engine of DNA synthesis
RIS ID
65698
Abstract
Synthesis of new DNA is carried out by DNA polymerases that copy DNA templates. Curiously, these enzymes cannot start DNA strands; they can only extend preexisting ‘‘primers’’ that have a 30-OH group available to attack the a-phosphate of incoming complementary dNTPs. It is the job of the primases to produce the initiating (RNA) primers for every DNA strand. Primases are unusual DNA-dependent RNA polymerases that generate short segments of RNA:DNA heteroduplex, and in bacteria, the primase activity is attributed to the DnaG protein.
Publication Details
Mansfield, R. E. & Dixon, N. E. (2012). Priming the engine of DNA synthesis. Structure, 20 (9), 1447-1448.