Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Translesion DNA Polymerases

Translesion DNA Polymerases

Translesion (TLS) polymerases rescue stalled DNA polymerases at sites of damaged bases by replacing the replicative polymerase and installing a nucleotide across the damaged site. Doing so, TLS allows additional time for the cell to repair the damage before resuming regular DNA replication.
TLS polymerases are found in all three domains of life - archaea, bacteria, and eukaryotes. Of the different classes of TLS polymerases, members of the Y family are fitted with specialized structures that...

Proofreading

Proofreading

Synthesis of new DNA molecules is carried out by the enzyme DNA polymerase, which adds nucleotides on the daughter strand complementary to the template DNA strand. DNA polymerase has a higher affinity to add the correct base and ensures fidelity during DNA replication. Furthermore, it exhibits proofreading activity during replication, using an exonuclease domain that cuts off incorrect nucleotides from the nascent DNA strand.
Errors During Replication are Corrected by the DNA Polymerase Enzyme

Proofreading

Proofreading

Synthesis of new DNA molecules starts when DNA polymerase links nucleotides together in a sequence that is complementary to the template DNA strand. DNA polymerase has a higher affinity for the correct base to ensure fidelity in DNA replication. The DNA polymerase furthermore proofreads during replication, using an exonuclease domain that cuts off incorrect nucleotides from the nascent DNA strand.Errors during Replication Are Corrected by the DNA Polymerase EnzymeGenomic DNA is synthesized in...

Mismatch Repair

Mismatch Repair

Organisms are capable of detecting and fixing nucleotide mismatches that occur during DNA replication. This sophisticated process requires identifying the new strand and replacing the erroneous bases with correct nucleotides. Mismatch repair is coordinated by many proteins in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
The Mutator Protein Family Plays a Key Role in DNA Mismatch Repair
The human genome has more than 3 billion base pairs of DNA per cell. Prior to cell division, that vast amount of genetic...

Mismatch Repair

Mismatch Repair

Homologous Recombination

Homologous Recombination

The basic reaction of homologous recombination (HR) involves two chromatids that contain DNA sequences sharing a significant stretch of identity. One of these sequences uses a strand from another as a template to synthesize DNA in an enzyme-catalyzed reaction. The final product is a novel amalgamation of the two substrates. To ensure an accurate recombination of sequences, HR is restricted to the S and G2 phases of the cell cycle. At these stages, the DNA has been replicated already and the...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Redox stress agents strongly enhance mutagenesis during horizontal gene transfer in bacteria and leave distinct mutational and metabolic footprints.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

Structural and Computational Analysis of <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> DNA Gyrase Reveals Molecular Characteristics That May Contribute to Ciprofloxacin Resistance.

Biomolecules·2026

Same author

Structural and Computational Analysis of <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> DNA Gyrase Reveals Molecular Characteristics That May Contribute to Ciprofloxacin Resistance.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2025

Same author

A role for the stringent response in ciprofloxacin resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Scientific reports·2024

Same author

Drugging evolution of antibiotic resistance at a regulatory network hub.

Science advances·2023

Same author

ppGpp and RNA-polymerase backtracking guide antibiotic-induced mutable gambler cells.

Molecular cell·2023

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 11, 2026

Single-Molecule Fluorescence Visualization of DNA Polymerase Dynamics at G-Quadruplexes

Single-Molecule Fluorescence Visualization of DNA Polymerase Dynamics at G-Quadruplexes

Published on: April 4, 2025

Mutational clusters generated by non-processive polymerases: A case study using DNA polymerase betain vitro.

Libertad García-Villada¹, John W Drake

¹Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA. garciavillal@niehs.nih.gov

|July 15, 2010

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study investigated DNA mutation patterns, finding no evidence of excess multiple mutations with DNA polymerase beta (Pol beta). This suggests previous findings of excess multiples in other systems might be artifactual due to detection biases.

More Related Videos

Single Droplet Digital Polymerase Chain Reaction for Comprehensive and Simultaneous Detection of Mutations in Hotspot Regions

Single Droplet Digital Polymerase Chain Reaction for Comprehensive and Simultaneous Detection of Mutations in Hotspot Regions

Published on: September 25, 2018

DNA Polymerase Activity Assay Using Near-infrared Fluorescent Labeled DNA Visualized by Acrylamide Gel Electrophoresis

DNA Polymerase Activity Assay Using Near-infrared Fluorescent Labeled DNA Visualized by Acrylamide Gel Electrophoresis

Published on: October 6, 2017

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 11, 2026

Single-Molecule Fluorescence Visualization of DNA Polymerase Dynamics at G-Quadruplexes

Single-Molecule Fluorescence Visualization of DNA Polymerase Dynamics at G-Quadruplexes

Published on: April 4, 2025

Single Droplet Digital Polymerase Chain Reaction for Comprehensive and Simultaneous Detection of Mutations in Hotspot Regions

Single Droplet Digital Polymerase Chain Reaction for Comprehensive and Simultaneous Detection of Mutations in Hotspot Regions

Published on: September 25, 2018

DNA Polymerase Activity Assay Using Near-infrared Fluorescent Labeled DNA Visualized by Acrylamide Gel Electrophoresis

DNA Polymerase Activity Assay Using Near-infrared Fluorescent Labeled DNA Visualized by Acrylamide Gel Electrophoresis

Published on: October 6, 2017

Area of Science:

Molecular Biology
Genetics
Biochemistry

Background:

Mutational spectra often show more mutants with multiple mutations ("multiples") than expected by random chance, suggesting non-random mutation clustering.
This clustering is hypothesized to arise from low-fidelity DNA synthesis, potentially involving specific enzyme variants.
Non-processive polymerases, like DNA polymerase beta (Pol beta), are predicted not to exhibit excess multiples, even with mutator variants.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether DNA polymerase beta (Pol beta) generates an excess of multiple mutations.
To determine if previously reported excesses of multiples in other systems could be artifactual.
To analyze mutation distributions from native, recombinant, and mutator variants of rat Pol beta.

Main Methods:

Analysis of mutation distributions generated by native and recombinant rat Pol beta, and the Pol beta(Y265C) mutator.
Utilized the M13mp2 lacZalpha system for mutation detection.
Compared observed multiple mutation frequencies against expected random distributions.

Main Results:

No significant excess of multiples was observed for any of the tested Pol beta enzymes in the M13mp2 lacZalpha system.
The findings contradict some previous studies using the HSV-tk system that reported excess multiples for Pol beta.
Suggests potential artifactual increases in multiples in other systems due to undetected weak-phenotype mutations.

Conclusions:

DNA polymerase beta (Pol beta) does not appear to generate a significant excess of multiple mutations under the tested conditions.
The discrepancy with previous findings may be due to differences in detection systems and their sensitivity to weak mutations.
Excess multiples observed in other systems, particularly with processive polymerases, might be artifactual and not indicative of inherent non-random clustering by the polymerase itself.