Biological Perspective of Dna Polymerase in Replication
Biochemical Prospective of DNA polymerase in Replication
Biologists and chemists have long recognized a relationship among DNA, RNA, and protein, and this recognition has guided a vast amount of research over the past decades and generations. The pathway of DNA to RNA and RNA to protein is conserved in all forms of life and is often called the Central Dogma. DNA functions as a storage molecule, holding genetic information for the lifetime of a cellular organism, and allowing that information to be duplicated and passed on to its progeny. Synthesis of the duplicate DNA is directed by the parental molecule and is called replication. DNA replication is an extraordinarily important complex process upon which all life depends. This process is catalyzed by DNA polymerase enzymes. A DNA polymerase is an enzyme that catalyzes the polymerization of deoxyribonucleotides into a DNA strand. DNA polymerases are best known for their feedback role in DNA replication, in which the polymerase reads and intact DNA strand. This process copies a piece of DNA. The newly polymerized molecule is complementary to the template strand and identical to the template’s original partner strand (Wikipedia).
In understanding the biochemical prospective of DNA polymerase in replication, its important to understand the structure of DNA and the machinery behind it. The structure of DNA provides a template-driven mechanism for its replication. Experiments by Meselson and Stahl showed that each polynucleotide strand serves as a template for a daughter strand. On completion of replication, each daughter strand, which is hydrogen bonded to its template, or parental strand, segregates to one of the daughter cells. This mode of DNA replication is called semiconservative DNA replication. DNA polymerase requires a template, all four deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates (NTPs), and a primer from which to extend the chain, The polymerization reaction involves the nucleophilic attack of the growing
Biologists and chemists have long recognized a relationship among DNA, RNA, and protein, and this recognition has guided a vast amount of research over the past decades and generations. The pathway of DNA to RNA and RNA to protein is conserved in all forms of life and is often called the Central Dogma. DNA functions as a storage molecule, holding genetic information for the lifetime of a cellular organism, and allowing that information to be duplicated and passed on to its progeny. Synthesis of the duplicate DNA is directed by the parental molecule and is called replication. DNA replication is an extraordinarily important complex process upon which all life depends. This process is catalyzed by DNA polymerase enzymes. A DNA polymerase is an enzyme that catalyzes the polymerization of deoxyribonucleotides into a DNA strand. DNA polymerases are best known for their feedback role in DNA replication, in which the polymerase reads and intact DNA strand. This process copies a piece of DNA. The newly polymerized molecule is complementary to the template strand and identical to the template’s original partner strand (Wikipedia).
In understanding the biochemical prospective of DNA polymerase in replication, its important to understand the structure of DNA and the machinery behind it. The structure of DNA provides a template-driven mechanism for its replication. Experiments by Meselson and Stahl showed that each polynucleotide strand serves as a template for a daughter strand. On completion of replication, each daughter strand, which is hydrogen bonded to its template, or parental strand, segregates to one of the daughter cells. This mode of DNA replication is called semiconservative DNA replication. DNA polymerase requires a template, all four deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates (NTPs), and a primer from which to extend the chain, The polymerization reaction involves the nucleophilic attack of the growing