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Updated: May 9, 2026

Visualizing Single-molecule DNA Replication with Fluorescence Microscopy
Published on: October 9, 2009
A single-molecule view of DNA replication: the dynamic nature of multi-protein complexes revealed
Hylkje J Geertsema1, Antoine M van Oijen
1Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, Centre for Synthetic Biology, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
Recent advances in the development of single-molecule approaches have made it possible to study the dynamics of biomolecular systems in great detail. More recently, such tools have been applied to study the dynamic nature of large multi-protein complexes that support multiple enzymatic activities. In this review, we will discuss single-molecule studies of the replisome, the protein complex responsible for the coordinated replication of double-stranded DNA. In particular, we will focus on new insights obtained into the dynamic nature of the composition of the DNA-replication machinery and how the dynamic replacement of components plays a role in the regulation of the DNA-replication process.
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