Accuracy of thymine-thymine dimer bypass by Saccharomyces cerevisiae DNA polymerase η

M. Todd Washington, Robert E. Johnson, Satya Prakash, Louise Prakash

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

174 Scopus citations

Abstract

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae RAD30 gene functions in error-free replication of UV-damaged DNA. RAD30 encodes a DNA polymerase, Pol η, which inserts two adenines opposite the two thymines of a cis-syn thymine-thymine (T-T) dimer. Here we use steady-state kinetics to determine the accuracy of DNA synthesis opposite the T-T dimer. Surprisingly, the accuracy of DNA synthesis opposite the damaged DNA is nearly indistinguishable from that opposite non-damaged DNA, with frequencies of misincorporation of about 10- 2 to 10-3. These studies support the hypothesis that unlike most DNA polymerases, Pol η is able to tolerate distortions in DNA resulting from damage, which then enables the polymerase to utilize the intrinsic base pairing ability of the T-T dimer.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)3094-3099
Number of pages6
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume97
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 28 2000

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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