The mammalian primase is part of a high molecular weight DNA polymerase alpha polypeptide

The recently discovered eukaryotic primases have been found in tight association with certain DNA polymerase alpha forms. Here I present evidence that the high mol. wt. catalytic polypeptide (125,000) of an apparently homogeneous DNA polymerase alpha from freshly harvested calf thymus contains both polymerase and primase activity. This conclusion derives from the following three facts: (1) the two enzyme activities cannot be separated upon velocity sedimentation in 1.7 M urea, (2) both activities elute at a pI of 5.25 upon chromatofocussing and (3) after SDS-electrophoresis, renaturation of the enzymes in situ and measurement of DNA polymerase and primase activities in the gels, both enzymes have identical mobilities and coincide with the high mol. wt. catalytic subunit of DNA polymerase alpha.