DNA Polymerases: Eukaryotic

Ulrich Hübscher, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland

Published online: September 2005

DOI: 10.1038/npg.els.0005058

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) polymerases are enzymes that can use the four bases A, T, G and C to synthesize DNA according to the Watson–Crick base-pair rule (A to T and G to C). They require a template DNA and a nucleic acid (ribonucleic acid or DNA) for initiation of DNA synthesis and use the energy of the four deoxyribonucleoside 5¢ triphosphates to incorporate deoxyribonucleoside 5¢ monophosphates onto the template DNA.

Keywords: DNA polymerases; DNA replication; DNA repair mechanisms; translesion DNA synthesis; cell-cycle and checkpoint functions

Figure 1. The ATPase switch for the matchmaker ATPase replication factor C is essential for the function of DNA polymerase . The cycle starts at step 1 by binding of ATP to RF-C and continues until step 8, when the cycle can begin again.
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 References
    Hübscher U, Kuenzle CC and Spadari S (1979) Functional roles of DNA polymerase and . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 76: 2316–2320.
    Hübscher U, Maga G and Spadari S (2002) Eukaryotic DNA polymerases. Annual Review of Biochemistry 71: 133–163.
    Hübscher U, Nasheuer HP and Syväoja J (2000) Eukaryotic DNA polymerases, a growing family. Trends in Biochemical Sciences 25: 143–147.
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    Stucki M, Stagliar I, Jonsson ZO and Hübscher U (2000) A coordinated interplay: proteins with multiple functions in DNA replication, DNA repair, cell cycle/check point control and transcription. Progress in Nucleic Acid Research and Molecular Biology 65: 261–298.
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    Woodgate R (1999) A plethora of lesion-replicating DNA polymerases. Genes and Development 13: 2191–2195.
 Further Reading
    Baker TA and Bell SP (1998) Polymerases and the replisome: machines within machines. Cell 92: 295–305.
    Cox MM, Goodman MF, Kreuzer KN, et al. (2000) The importance of repairing stalled replication forks. Nature 404: 37–41.
    book DePamphilis ML (1996) DNA Replication in Eukaryotic Cells. Cold Spring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.
    Falaschi A (2000) Eukaryotic DNA replication: a model for a fixed double replisome. Trends in Genetics 16: 88–92.
    Haber JE (1999) DNA recombination: the replication connection. Trends in Biochemical Sciences 25: 271–275.
    Hübscher U and Spadari S (1994) DNA replication and chemotherapy. Physiological Reviews 74: 259–304.
    book Kornberg A and Baker TA (1992) DNA Replication. New York, NY: Freeman and Company.
    Lindahl T and Wood RD (1999) Quality control by DNA repair. Science 286: 1899–1905.
    Tye BK (2000) Insight into DNA replication from the third domain of life. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 97: 2399–2401.
 Web Links
    ePath Polymerase (DNA directed), eta (POLH); Locus ID: 5429. LocusLink: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/LocusLink/LocRpt.cgi?l=5429
    ePath Polymerase (DNA directed), eta (POLH); MIM number: 603968. OMIM: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Omim/dispmim?603968

Related Sub-Topics:

Replication and Recombination | DNA Structure and Function | DNA Damage and Repair | Enzymes: Structure and Action Mechanism | Nucleic Acids: Structure, Function, Metabolism
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Article Title: DNA Polymerases: Eukaryotic
 
How to Cite close
Hübscher, Ulrich(Sep 2005) DNA Polymerases: Eukaryotic. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1038/npg.els.0005058]