DNA polymerases are the enzymes responsible for replicating DNA, with DNA polymerase a's (DNAPa) initiating the replication process in eukaryotes. Unfortunately, many DNA polymerases are not very stable, making study of these enzymes difficult.  Thermomyces lanuginosus (TL) is a thermophilic fungus, so its DNA polymerases are expected to be heartier and to have a higher temperature tolerance; for this reason, TL has become a target for study. Experiments designed to determine the gene sequence of the catalytic subunit of DNAPa have been undertaken using large scale culture of TL. This sequence appears to be partly conserved among eukaryotes, though little research has been done on fungi apart from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Using primers based on known sequences from a handful of other fungi, a possible expressed sequence tag (EST) has been identified. This EST will be sequenced and then used to quantitate DNAPa catalytic subunit mRNA in TL.

Search for the catalytic subunit of DNA polymerase α in ?Thermomyces lanuginosus

245th National Meeting (2013)

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