[Separation of the enzyme catalyzing polymerization of deoxyribonucleoside diphosphates from preparations of E. coli...

The enzyme which catalyses template independent synthesis of polydeoxynucleotides from deoxynucleoside diphosphates was separated from E. coli DNA polymerase I by DEAE-cellulose chromatography followed by ultrafiltration through the M-50 Amicon filter. The ultrafiltration data indicate that the molecular weight of the enzyme is not higher than 50,000. The enzyme is not able to use deoxynucleoside triphosphates, ribonucleoside di- or triphosphates as substrates for the polymerization. The reaction of template independent polymerization proceeds with a lag period varying from 2 to 20 hours (for different preparations of enzyme) and is activated by Mg2+ (the optimal concentration 1-2 . 10(-3) M). The pH optimum of the reaction is at 8.5. The optimal concentration of deoxyribonucleoside diphosphates is 10(-3) M, and its increase strongly inhibits polymerization. The enzyme was supposed to be called deoxynucleoside diphosphate: olygonucleotide deoxynucleotidyltransferase (catalyzing polymerization without template). The presence of the enzyme in the preparations of E. coli DNA-polymerase I can explain the ability of the latter to catalyze the untemplated synthesis of poly dG : poly dC.