scholarly journals The fidelity of replication of the three-base-pair set adenine/thymine, hypoxanthine/cytosine and 6-thiopurine/5-methyl-2-pyrimidinone with T7 DNA polymerase

2004 ◽  
Vol 381 (3) ◽  
pp. 709-717 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harry P. RAPPAPORT

With the goal of constructing a genetic alphabet consisting of a set of three base pairs, the fidelity of replication of the three base pairs TH (5-methyl-2-pyrimidinone)/HS (6-thiopurine; thiohypoxanthine), C/H (hypoxanthine) and T/A was evaluated using T7 DNA polymerase, a polymerase with a strong 3′→5′ exonuclease activity. An evaluation of the suitability of a new base pair for replication should include both the contribution of the fidelity of a polymerase activity and the contribution of proofreading by a 3′→5′ exonuclease activity. Using a steady-state kinetics method that included the contribution of the 3′→5′ exonuclease activity, the fidelity of replication was determined. The method determined the ratio of the apparent rate constant for the addition of a deoxynucleotide to the primer across from a template base by the polymerase activity and the rate constant for removal of the added deoxynucleotide from the primer by the 3′→5′ exonuclease activity. This ratio was designated the eni (efficiency of net incorporation). The eni of the base pair C/H was equal to or greater than the eni of T/A. The eni of the base pair TH/HS was 0.1 times that of A/T for TH in the template and 0.01 times that of A/T for HS in the template. The ratio of the eni of a mismatched deoxynucleotide to the eni of a matched deoxynucleotide was a measure of the error frequency. The error frequencies were as follows: thymine or TH opposite a template hypoxanthine, 2×10−6; HS opposite a template cytosine, <3×10−4. The remaining 24 mismatched combinations of bases gave no detectable net incorporation. Two mismatches, hypoxanthine opposite a template thymine or a template TH, showed trace incorporation in the presence of a standard dNTP complementary to the next template base. T7 DNA polymerase extended the primer beyond each of the matched base pairs of the set. The level of fidelity of replication of the three base pairs with T7 DNA polymerase suggests that they are adequate for a three-base-pair alphabet for DNA replication.

2009 ◽  
Vol 53 (6) ◽  
pp. 2610-2612 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher M. Bailey ◽  
Rajesh Kasiviswanathan ◽  
William C. Copeland ◽  
Karen S. Anderson

ABSTRACT The R964C mutation of human DNA polymerase γ was recently linked to stavudine (d4T)-mediated mitochondrial toxicity. We utilized pre-steady-state kinetics to determine the effect of this mutation on incorporation of natural substrate dTTP and the active metabolite of d4T (d4TTP). The R964C polymerase γ holoenzyme demonstrated a 33% decrease in dTTP incorporation efficiency and a threefold-lower d4TTP discrimination relative to that of the wild-type polymerase γ, providing a mechanistic basis for genetic predisposition to nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor toxicity.


2017 ◽  
Vol 92 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica L. Lawler ◽  
Purba Mukherjee ◽  
Donald M. Coen

ABSTRACTThe catalytic subunit (Pol) of herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) DNA polymerase has been extensively studied both as a model for other family B DNA polymerases and for its differences from these enzymes as an antiviral target. Among the activities of HSV-1 Pol is an intrinsic RNase H activity that cleaves RNA from RNA-DNA hybrids. There has long been a controversy regarding whether this activity is due to the 3′-to-5′ exonuclease of Pol or whether it is a separate activity, possibly acting on 5′ RNA termini. To investigate this issue, we compared wild-type HSV-1 Pol and a 3′-to-5′ exonuclease-deficient mutant, D368A Pol, for DNA polymerase activity, 3′-to-5′ exonuclease activity, and RNase H activityin vitro. Additionally, we assessed the RNase H activity using differentially end-labeled templates with 5′ or 3′ RNA termini. The mutant enzyme was at most modestly impaired for DNA polymerase activity but was drastically impaired for 3′-to-5′ exonuclease activity, with no activity detected even at high enzyme-to-DNA substrate ratios. Importantly, the mutant showed no detectable ability to excise RNA with either a 3′ or 5′ terminus, while the wild-type HSV-1 Pol was able to cleave RNA from the annealed RNA-DNA hairpin template, but only detectably with a 3′ RNA terminus in a 3′-to-5′ direction and at a rate lower than that of the exonuclease activity. These results suggest that HSV-1 Pol does not have an RNase H separable from its 3′-to-5′ exonuclease activity and that this activity prefers DNA degradation over degradation of RNA from RNA-DNA hybrids.IMPORTANCEHerpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) is a member of theHerpesviridaefamily of DNA viruses, several of which cause morbidity and mortality in humans. Although the HSV-1 DNA polymerase has been studied for decades and is a crucial target for antivirals against HSV-1 infection, several of its functions remain to be elucidated. A hypothesis suggesting the existence of a 5′-to-3′ RNase H activity intrinsic to this enzyme that could remove RNA primers from Okazaki fragments has been particularly controversial. In this study, we were unable to identify RNase H activity of HSV-1 DNA polymerase on RNA-DNA hybrids with 5′ RNA termini. We detected RNase H activity on hybrids with 3′ termini, but this was due to the 3′-to-5′ exonuclease. Thus, HSV-1 is unlikely to use this method to remove RNA primers during DNA replication but may use pathways similar to those used in eukaryotic Okazaki fragment maturation.


1968 ◽  
Vol 109 (4) ◽  
pp. 543-557 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. J. Thrower ◽  
A. R. Peacocke

The kinetics of the renaturation of Escherichia coli DNA in 0·4–1·0m-sodium chloride at temperatures from 60° to 90° have been studied. The extent of renaturation was a maximum at 65° to 75° and increased with ionic strength, and the rate constant increased with both ionic strength and temperature. The energy and entropy of activation of renaturation were calculated to be 6–7kcal.mole−1 and −40cal.deg.−1mole−1 respectively. It has been shown that renaturation is a second-order process for 5hr. under most conditions. The results are consistent with a reaction in which the rate-controlling step is the diffusion together of two separated complementary DNA strands and the formation of a nucleus of base pairs between them. The kinetics of the renaturation of T7-phage DNA and Bordetella pertussis DNA have also been studied, and their rates of renaturation related quantitatively to the relative heterogeneity of the DNA samples. By analysis of the spectra of DNA at different stages during renaturation it was shown that initially the renatured DNA was rich in guanine–cytosine base pairs and non-random in base sequence, but that, as equilibrium was approached, the renatured DNA gradually resembled native DNA more closely. The rate constant for the renaturation of guanine–cytosine base pairs was slightly higher than for adenine–thymine base pairs.


2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (21) ◽  
pp. 1650276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guiqing Zhang ◽  
Shijie Xie

According to [Formula: see text] measurements, it has been predicted that proton transfer would not occur in the radical cation of adenine–thymine (A:T). However, recent theoretical calculations indicate that proton transfer takes place in the base pair in water below the room temperature. We have performed simulations of proton transfer in the cation of B-DNA stack composed of 10 A:T base pairs in water from 20 K to 300 K. Proton transfer occurs below the room temperature, meanwhile it could also be observed at the room temperature under the external electric field. Another case that interests us is that proton transfer bounces back after [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]300 fs from the appearance of proton transfer at low temperatures.


2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (19) ◽  
pp. 7099-7108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanbin Zhang ◽  
Fenghua Yuan ◽  
Xiaohua Wu ◽  
Zhigang Wang

ABSTRACT DNA polymerase activity is essential for replication, recombination, repair, and mutagenesis. All DNA polymerases studied so far from any biological source synthesize DNA by the Watson-Crick base-pairing rule, incorporating A, G, C, and T opposite the templates T, C, G, and A, respectively. Non-Watson-Crick base pairs would lead to mutations. In this report, we describe the ninth human DNA polymerase, Polι, encoded by the RAD30B gene. We show that human Polι violates the Watson-Crick base-pairing rule opposite template T. During base selection, human Polι preferred T-G base pairing, leading to G incorporation opposite template T. The resulting T-G base pair was less efficiently extended by human Polι compared to the Watson-Crick base pairs. Consequently, DNA synthesis frequently aborted opposite template T, a property we designated the T stop. This T stop restricted human Polι to a very short stretch of DNA synthesis. Furthermore, kinetic analyses show that human Polι copies template C with extraordinarily low fidelity, misincorporating T, A, and C with unprecedented frequencies of 1/9, 1/10, and 1/11, respectively. Human Polι incorporated one nucleotide opposite a template abasic site more efficiently than opposite a template T, suggesting a role for human Polι in DNA lesion bypass. The unique features of preferential G incorporation opposite template T and T stop suggest that DNA Polι may additionally play a specialized function in human biology.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshiyuki Ohtsubo ◽  
Keiichiro Sakai ◽  
Yuji Nagata ◽  
Masataka Tsuda

Abstract Repairing of DNA termini is a crucial step in a variety of DNA handling techniques. In this study, we investigated mechanically-sheared DNA 3’-ends (MSD3Es) to establish an efficient repair method. As opposed to the canonical view of DNA terminus generated by sonication, we showed that approximately 47% and 20% of MSD3Es carried a phosphate group and a hydroxyl group, respectively. The others had unidentified abnormal terminal structures. Notably, a fraction of the abnormal 3’ termini (about 20% of the total) was not repaired after the removal of 3’ phosphates and T4 DNA polymerase (T4DP) treatment. To overcome this limitation, we devised a reaction, in which the 3’− > 5’ exonuclease activity of exonuclease III (3’− > 5’ exonuclease, insensitive to the 3’ phosphate group) was counterbalanced by the 5’− > 3’ polymerase activity of T4DP. This combined reaction, termed “SB-repairing” (for scrap-and-build repairing), will serve as a useful tool for the efficient repair of MSD3Es.


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