Enzymes, proteins work together to tidy up the tail end of DNA in dividing cells
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have described the way enzymes and proteins interact to maintain protective coverings, called telomeres, at the ends of chromosomes, a new insight into how human cells maintain the integrity of their DNA through repeated cell division. . DNA replication is critical to sustaining life as we know it, but much of the complexity of the process — how myriad biomolecules get to where they need to be and interact through a series of intricately orchestrated steps — remains a mystery. From left, Qixiang He, Ci Ji Lim, Xiuhua Lin. “The mechanism behind how this enzyme, called PolĪ±-primase, works has been elusive for decades,” said Ci Ji Lim, assistant professor of biochemistry and principal investigator on a new study on DNA replication published recently in Nature. “Our study provides a major breakthrough in understanding DNA synthesis at the ends of chromosomes, and generates new hypotheses about how PolĪ±-primase – the main cog in the DNA r