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Chapter 11: Problem 17

What would be the impact of the loss of processivity on DNA Pol III?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Answer: Reduced processivity in DNA Pol III may lead to decreased replication speed, increased error rates during replication, processing issues with Okazaki fragments, and potential compensation from other replication enzymes. Ultimately, these consequences may impact cellular viability, leading to slower replication, increased mutation rates, and potential genomic instability.

Step by step solution

01

Impact on replication speed

DNA Pol III with reduced processivity will dissociate from the template DNA more frequently during replication. This will significantly hinder replication progress since the enzyme will need to reattach multiple times, decreasing replication speed and elongation efficiency.
02

Impact on replication fidelity

Processivity is important for ensuring replication fidelity. DNA Pol III's increased dissociation rates due to lower processivity might lead to a higher error rate or more frequent stalling, as DNA Pol III might not be able to efficiently correct mismatched base pairs before detaching from the DNA.
03

Impact on Okazaki fragment processing

Loss of processivity in DNA Pol III may affect the processing of Okazaki fragments during lagging strand synthesis. Frequent dissociation of the enzyme may cause an increase in the number of Okazaki fragments, potentially affecting overall replication efficiency.
04

Compensation by other replication enzymes

Other replication enzymes, such as DNA Pol I or the sliding clamp (β clamp), may be able to partially compensate for the loss of processivity in DNA Pol III. However, this may not fully restore replication efficiency, and it might increase the chances of errors in DNA synthesis.
05

Overall impact on cellular processes

DNA replication is a fundamental process in cell division and growth. A significant reduction in processivity of DNA Pol III may have broad implications for cellular viability. It may lead to slower replication, increased mutation rates, and potential genomic instability, ultimately affecting normal cell function and potentially leading to a higher chance of disease or dysfunction.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

During replication, what would be the consequences of the loss of functions of (a) single-stranded binding proteins, (b) DNA ligases, (c) DNA topoisomerases, and (d) DNA helicases?

During DNA replication, which enzyme can be disposed of in an organism with a mutant DNA polymerase that does not require a free \(3^{\prime}-\mathrm{OH} ?\)

In Kornberg's initial experiments, it was rumored that he grew E. coli in Anheuser-Busch beer vats. (Kornberg was working at Washington University in St. Louis.) Why do you think this might have been helpful to the experiment?

DNA polymerases in all organisms add only \(5^{\prime}\) nucleotides to the \(3^{\prime}\) end of a growing DNA strand, never to the \(5^{\prime}\) end. One possible reason for this is the fact that most DNA polymerases have a proofreading function that would not be energetically possible if DNA synthesis occurred in the \(3^{\prime}\) to \(5^{\prime}\) direction. (a) Sketch the reaction that DNA polymerase would have to catalyze if DNA synthesis occurred in the \(3^{\prime}\) to \(5^{\prime}\) direction. (b) Consider the information in your sketch and speculate as to why proofreading would be problematic.

Suppose that \(E .\) coli synthesizes DNA at a rate of 100,000 nucleotides per minute and takes 40 minutes to replicate its chromo- some. (a) How many base pairs are present in the entire \(E .\) coli chromosome? (b) What is the physical length of the chromosome in its helical configuration- that is, what is the circumference of the chromosome if it were opened into a circle?
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