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Publication Abstract from PubMed

Visualization in atomic detail of the replisome that performs concerted leading- and lagging-DNA strand synthesis at a replication fork has not been reported. Using bacteriophage T7 as a model system, we determined cryo-electron microscopy structures up to 3.2-angstroms resolution of helicase translocating along DNA and of helicase-polymerase-primase complexes engaging in synthesis of both DNA strands. Each domain of the spiral-shaped hexameric helicase translocates sequentially hand-over-hand along a single-stranded DNA coil, akin to the way AAA+ ATPases (adenosine triphosphatases) unfold peptides. Two lagging-strand polymerases are attached to the primase, ready for Okazaki fragment synthesis in tandem. A beta hairpin from the leading-strand polymerase separates two parental DNA strands into a T-shaped fork, thus enabling the closely coupled helicase to advance perpendicular to the downstream DNA duplex. These structures reveal the molecular organization and operating principles of a replisome.

Structures and operating principles of the replisome.,Gao Y, Cui Y, Fox T, Lin S, Wang H, de Val N, Zhou ZH, Yang W Science. 2019 Feb 22;363(6429). pii: science.aav7003. doi:, 10.1126/science.aav7003. Epub 2019 Jan 24. PMID:30679383^[3]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.