Projekt

Daten zum Projekt

Parallel World: Can polymerases go against the grain?

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Initiative: "Experiment!" (beendet)
Ausschreibung: Explorative Phase
Bewilligung: 02.03.2021
Laufzeit: 1 Jahr 6 Monate

Projektinformationen

The current paradigm of nucleic acid polymerase reactions is that DNA synthesis is exclusively initiated from antiparallel-oriented template primer duplexes, yet new XNA-based experiments hint at the possibility that some polymerases are flexible enough to copy a natural nucleic acid template in the reverse direction and/or initiate from a 5' end from a parallel-hybridized primer. This project addresses the question whether polymerases are able to accept a non-canonical parallel-stranded primer template complex as a substrate to initiate nucleic acid synthesis. Such a previously undetected property of polymerases would have a strong impact in understanding early evolution of the genetic code, gene regulation and repair mechanisms that may contribute to the generation of diversity in the immune system.

Projektbeteiligte

  • Dr. Jörn Glökler

    Technische Hochschule Wildau
    Angewandte Biowissenschaften
    Molekulare Biotechnologie und Funktionelle Genomik
    Wildau