Polymerase 23648 225775354 2008-07-15T10:08:47Z MattieTK 434929 Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/203.87.179.78|203.87.179.78]] to last version by ClueBot (using [[WP:HG|Huggle]]) {{technical}} A '''polymerase''' (EC 2.7.7.6/7/19/48/49) is an [[enzyme]] whose central function is associated with [[polymer]]s of [[nucleic acid]]s such as [[RNA]] and [[DNA]]. The primary function of a polymerase is the [[polymerization]] of new DNA or RNA against an existing DNA or RNA template in the processes of [[DNA replication|replication]] and [[Transcription (genetics)|transcription]]. In association with a cluster of other enzymes and proteins, they take [[nucleotide]]s from solution, and catalyse the synthesis of a polynucleotide sequence against a [[nucleotide]] template strand using base-pairing interactions. It is an accident of history that the enzymes responsible for the catalytic production of other [[biopolymer]]s are not also referred to as polymerases. One particular polymerase, from the [[thermophile|thermophilic]] [[bacteria|bacterium]], ''[[Thermus aquaticus]]'' (''Taq'') ([[Protein data bank|PDB]] [http://www.rcsb.org/pdb/cgi/explore.cgi?pid=288631034363198&pdbId=1BGX 1BGX], EC 2.7.7.7) is of vital commercial importance due to its use in the [[polymerase chain reaction]], a widely-used technique of [[molecular biology]]. Other well-known polymerases include: *[[Terminal Deoxynucleotidyl Transferase]] (TDT), which lends diversity to antibody heavy chains *[[Reverse Transcriptase]], an enzyme used by [[RNA]] [[retrovirus]]es like [[HIV]], which is used to create a complementary strand to the preexisting strand of viral [[RNA]] before it can be integrated into the [[DNA]] of the [[host (biology)|host]] [[cell (biology)|cell]]. It is also a major target for antiviral drugs. ==See also== *[[DNA polymerase]] **[[DNA polymerase I]] **[[DNA polymerase II]] **[[DNA polymerase III holoenzyme]] **[[DNA Polymerase IV]] (DinB) – [[SOS response|SOS]] repair polymerase *[[RNA polymerase]] **[[RNA polymerase I]] **[[RNA polymerase II]] **[[RNA polymerase III]] **[[T7 RNA polymerase]] {{Phosphotransferases}} {{Polymerases}} {{DNA replication}} [[Category:EC 2.7.7]] [[Category:Enzymes]] [[da:Polymerase]] [[de:Polymerase]] [[es:Polimerasa]] [[fr:Polymérase]] [[it:Polimerasi]] [[pl:Polimeraza]] [[pt:Polimerase]] [[uk:Полімерази]]