Evolution of DNA polymerase [iota] structure and function in eukaryotes

ISSN 0006 2979, Biochemistry (Moscow), 2008, Vol. 73, No. 3, pp. 346 352. Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2008.

Original Russian Text A. V. Makarova, V. Z. Tarantul, L. V. Gening, 2008, published in Biokhimiya, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 3, pp. 426 433.

Evolution of DNA Polymerase Structure and Function in Eukaryotes

A. V. Makarova*, V. Z. Tarantul, and L. V. Gening

Institute of Molecular Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, pl. Kurchatova 2, 123182 Moscow, Russia; fax: [phone]; E mail: amakarova [email protected]

Received July 6, 2007 Revision received September 18, 2007

AbstractAnalysis of DNA polymerase (Pol ) enzymic activity in different classes of eukaryotes has shown that error prone activity of this enzyme can be found only in mammals, and that it is completely absent from organisms that are at lower stages of development. It was supposed that the emergence of the error prone Pol activity in mammals is caused by structural alteration of the active center. Possible functions of error prone Pol in higher eukaryotes are discussed.

DOI: 10.1134/S0006297908030176

Key words: DNA polymerase , error prone activity, hypermutagenesis

In archaea, prokaryotes, and eukaryotes, along with DNA polymerases providing for error free DNA replica tion, there are also about twenty DNA polymerases the main function of which is supposed to be the involvement in replication during passing over damaged sites. During efficient copying the damaged DNA, these enzymes are incorporate bases not always obeying the WatsonCrick rule. As a result, the frequency of errors on undamaged DNA increases up to 101 103 [1 5]. These enzymes are also able to catalyze the incorporation of nucleotides to aberrant primer termini (unpaired, containing errors, and damaged DNA sites). Owing to this distinction from other DNA polymerases participating in replication and repair, these enzymes were called error prone DNA poly merases. Recently more and more data have appeared showing that in the norm error prone DNA polymerases may be not only involved in intracellular replication of damaged DNA, but they also can carry out some other functions providing for selective advantage of organisms.

DNA polymerase (Pol ) [1, 5, 6], discovered in 2000 and found only in higher eukaryotes beginning from insects [7], occupies a particular place among these unusu al enzymes. The Pol sequence is similar to...