title: DNA polymerase delta, an essential enzyme for DNA transactions.
abstract: Many DNA transactions, such as replication, repair and recombination involve DNA synthesis and consequently require the action of DNA synthesizing enzymes called DNA polymerases (Pol). Eukaryotic cells contain at least six different Pols, named alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon, and zeta. Among them Pol delta occupies important roles in DNA replication, nucleotide excision repair, base excision repair and VDJ recombination. Pol a has been extremely conserved in evolution from yeast to man. The function of Pol delta must be considered in the context of two other factors, called proliferating cell nuclear antigen and replication factor C, two protein complexes that build together the moving platform for Pol delta. This moving platform provides an important framework for dynamic properties of an accurate Pol delta such as its recruitment when its function is needed, the facilitation of Pol delta binding to the primer terminus, the increase in Pol delta processivity, the prevention of non-productive binding of the Pol delta to single-stranded DNA, the release of Pol delta after DNA synthesis and the bridging of Pol delta interactions to other replication proteins. In this review we summarize the current knowledge of Pol delta and will focus in particular to its structural conservation, its functional tasks in the cell and its interactions with other proteins.
authors.affiliation: University Zürich-Irchel, Institute of Veterinary Biochemistry, Switzerland.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hindges
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Hübscher
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D004247:DNA / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D004258:DNA Polymerase III; D004260:DNA Repair / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D004261:DNA Replication / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D004259:DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology*; D005057:Eukaryotic Cells / Q000201:enzymology*; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D006801:Humans; D015778:Minor Histocompatibility Antigens; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen / Q000502:physiology; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D051818:Replication Protein C; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: C096816:BCL2-related protein A1; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; C096063:MATA1 protein, S cerevisiae; D015778:Minor Histocompatibility Antigens; D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D004247:DNA; D004258:DNA Polymerase III; D004259:DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase; D051818:Replication Protein C