Abstract
Maintenance of genome integrity is a key process in all organisms. DNA polymerases (Pols) are central players in this process as they are in charge of the faithful reproduction of the genetic information, as well as of DNA repair. Interestingly, all eukaryotes possess a large repertoire of polymerases. Three protein complexes, DNA Pol α, δ, and ε, are in charge of nuclear DNA replication. These enzymes have the fidelity and processivity required to replicate long DNA sequences, but DNA lesions can block their progression. Consequently, eukaryotic genomes also encode a variable number of specialized polymerases (between five and 16 depending on the organism) that are involved in the replication of damaged DNA, DNA repair, and organellar DNA replication. This diversity of enzymes likely stems from their ability to bypass specific types of lesions. In the past 10–15 years, our knowledge regarding plant DNA polymerases dramatically increased. In this review, we discuss these recent findings and compare acquired knowledge in plants to data obtained in other eukaryotes. We also discuss the emerging links between genome and epigenome replication.
Highlights
Maintenance of genome integrity is crucial to achieve faithful transmission of the genetic information in proliferating cells and from one generation to the
DNA polymerases are generally classified into different families (A, B, X, and Y) depending of the primary structure of their catalytic subunit [3]; non-replicative polymerases involved in translesion synthesis (TLS, a process that allows DNA replication to proceed passed DNA lesions), organelle DNA metabolism, or nuclear DNA repair are found in all families, whereas eukaryotic replicative polymerases all belong to the B family
Recent findings on plant DNA polymerases demonstrate the conservation of their function compared to what is known in mammals or yeast
Summary
Maintenance of genome integrity is crucial to achieve faithful transmission of the genetic information in proliferating cells and from one generation to the next. DNA polymerases are generally classified into different families (A, B, X, and Y) depending of the primary structure of their catalytic subunit [3]; non-replicative polymerases involved in translesion synthesis (TLS, a process that allows DNA replication to proceed passed DNA lesions), organelle DNA metabolism, or nuclear DNA repair are found in all families, whereas eukaryotic replicative polymerases all belong to the B family. Replicative and TLS DNA polymerases can differ broadly in terms of error rate and processivity. Pol δ and Pol ε are the main eukaryotic DNA replicases, and together perform the bulk of DNA replication, following priming by Pol α [8] These polymerases are protein complexes that comprise a large subunit harboring the catalytic activity, and accessory subunits, some of which are dispensable for the DNA synthesis activity.
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