title: The X family portrait: structural insights into biological functions of X family polymerases.
abstract: The mammalian family X DNA polymerases (DNA polymerases beta, lambda, mu, and TdT) contribute to base excision repair and double-strand break repair by virtue of their ability to fill short gaps in DNA. Structural information now exists for all four of these enzymes, making this the first mammalian polymerase family whose structural portrait is complete. Here we consider how distinctive structural features of these enzymes contribute to their biological functions in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Structural Biology, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health 111 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, United States.
authors.forename: Andrea F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Garcia-Diaz
authors.forename: Vinod K
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Batra
authors.forename: William A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Beard
authors.forename: Katarzyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bebenek
authors.forename: Thomas A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Kunkel
authors.forename: Samuel H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Lars C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Pedersen
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002384:Catalysis; D004260:DNA Repair; D004259:DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D004259:DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase