title: A covalent linkage between the gene 5 DNA polymerase of bacteriophage T7 and Escherichia coli thioredoxin, the processivity factor: fate of thioredoxin during DNA synthesis.
abstract: Gene 5 protein (gp5) of bacteriophage T7 is a non-processive DNA polymerase, which acquires high processivity by binding to Escherichia coli thioredoxin. The gene 5 protein-thioredoxin complex (gp5/trx) polymerizes thousands of nucleotides before dissociating from a primer-template. We have engineered a disulfide linkage between the gene 5 protein and thioredoxin within the binding surface of the two proteins. The polymerase activity of the covalently linked complex (gp5-S-S-trx) is similar to that of gp5/trx on poly(dA)/oligo(dT). However, gp5-S-S-trx has only one third the polymerase activity of gp5/trx on single-stranded M13 DNA. gp5-S-S-trx has difficulty polymerizing nucleotides through sites of secondary structure on M13 DNA and stalls at these sites, resulting in lower processivity. However, gp5-S-S-trx has an identical processivity and rate of elongation when E. coli single-stranded DNA-binding protein (SSB protein) is used to remove secondary structure from M13 DNA. Upon completing synthesis on a DNA template lacking secondary structure, both complexes recycle intact, without dissociation of the processivity factor, to initiate synthesis on a new DNA template. However, a complex stalled at secondary structure becomes unstable, and both subunits dissociate from each other as the polymerase prematurely releases from M13 DNA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Donald E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Charles C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Richardson
mesh_terms: D017123:Bacteriophage T7 / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D001665:Binding Sites; D004261:DNA Replication; D004259:DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics*; D004220:Disulfides; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D007700:Kinetics; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D011487:Protein Conformation; D015202:Protein Engineering; D013879:Thioredoxins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004220:Disulfides; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D013879:Thioredoxins; C034970:bacteriophage T7 induced DNA polymerase; D004259:DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase