title: DNA polymerase delta: gene sequences from Plasmodium falciparum indicate that this enzyme is more highly conserved than DNA polymerase alpha.
abstract: Genes encoding proteins homologous to the catalytic subunits of DNA polymerase alpha and delta have been cloned from the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. These are among the first cellular replicative DNA polymerase genes to be cloned and their sequences allow us to make new statements about the relative degrees of conservation of these two enzymes. The most important finding was that P. falciparum Pol delta showed considerable homology to the only other Pol delta enzyme for which published sequence is available, that of S. cerevisiae, displaying an overall amino acid identity of 45% and identity over a highly conserved central region of 59%. In contrast, the level of identity shown over the equivalent central region of Pol alpha between the P. falciparum and S. cerevisiae sequences is only 32%. The sequence data also allowed us to examine the degree of conservation in putative exonuclease domains of Pol delta. The Pol delta gene of P. falciparum maps to chromosome 10 and evidence is presented for the presence of different sized Pol delta mRNA's in the asexual and sexual erythrocytic stages of parasite development.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Ridley
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: McAleese
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goman
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Alano
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: de Vries
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Kilbey
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004257:DNA Polymerase II / Q000235:genetics*; D004258:DNA Polymerase III; D004259:DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase / Q000235:genetics*; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
chemical_list: D004257:DNA Polymerase II; D004258:DNA Polymerase III; D004259:DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase