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New details about gene regulation explained

(Phys.org) -- When genetic information is read from the genetic blueprint DNA, RNA polymerase II translates it into RNA molecules. The C-terminal domain, abbreviated as CTD, is an important area of the polymerase ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created May 21, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Scientists observe single gene activity in living cells

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have for the first time observed the activity of a single gene in living cells. In an unprecedented study, published in the April 22 online edition ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Apr 21, 2011 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Our genes can be set on pause

New evidence in embryonic stem cells shows that mammalian genes may all have a layer of control that acts essentially like the pause button on your DVR. The researchers say the results show that the pausing phenomenon, previously ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Apr 29, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (7) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Study uncovers how DNA unfolds for transcription

(PhysOrg.com) -- The human genome contains some 3 billion base pairs that are tightly compacted into the nucleus of each cell. If a DNA strand were the thickness of a human hair, the entire human genome would ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Jan 17, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 5 | with audio podcast

Scientists crash test DNA's replication machinery

(PhysOrg.com) -- Important molecular machines routinely crash into one another while plying their trades on DNA. New research shows that the enzymes that copy DNA before cell division, called replisomes, are the kings of ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Feb 10, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (9) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Everything flows in rapid diagnostic tests

(Phys.org) -- Our ability to detect pathogens has become quite good, but it usually requires complex laboratory techniques. Sometimes we need a quick result, or there is no laboratory nearby. Portable and ...

Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry

created Apr 12, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Biologists offer clearer picture of how protein machine systems tweak gene expression

Indiana University biologists have found that specific types of RNA polymerase enzymes, the molecular machines that convert DNA into RNA, can differ in function based on variation in the parts -- in this case ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Mar 01, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Chemists Discover How Cells Create Stability During Critical DNA-to-RNA Information Transfers

(PhysOrg.com) -- A pair of University of Massachusetts Amherst chemists believe they have for the first time explained how the main players in transcription -- RNA polymerase, RNA (red in illustration) and ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Dec 29, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (12) | comments 0

'Sloppier copier' surprisingly efficient

The "sloppier copier" discovered by USC biologists is also the best sixth man in the DNA repair game, an article in the journal Nature shows.

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Jul 15, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (4) | comments 3

Gene transcribing machine takes halting, backsliding trip along the DNA

(PhysOrg.com) -- The body's nanomachines that read our genes don't run as smoothly as previously thought, according to a new study by University of California, Berkeley, scientists.

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Jul 30, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 1

CSI: PCR-free techniques ID the most active microbes on the scene

Anyone who has watched one of the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation television shows knows that PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) is a technology used to amplify the tiniest samples of DNA into forensic evidence ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Sep 21, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers demonstrate new DNA detection technique

A team of researchers from the University of Notre Dame have demonstrated a novel DNA detection method that could prove suitable for many real-world applications.

Biology / Biotechnology

created Dec 16, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Scientists tease DNA from eggshell of extinct birds

(PhysOrg.com) -- In a world first, scientists in Australia announced on Wednesday they had extracted DNA from the fossilised eggshells of extinct birds, including iconic giants such as the moa and elephant ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Mar 09, 2010 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (14) | comments 5 | with audio podcast

Want to silence a gene? Pull here

(PhysOrg.com) -- Simply stretching DNA can silence a gene, scientists at the UA have discovered. The finding could point to a previously unknown gene control mechanism.

Biology / Biotechnology

created Mar 21, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Chaperone enzyme provides new target for cancer treatments

UNC scientists who study how cells repair damage from environmental factors like sunlight and cigarette smoke have discovered how a "chaperone" enzyme plays a key role in cells' ability to tolerate the DNA damage that leads ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Jan 18, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Polymerase

A polymerase (EC 2.7.7.6/7/19/48/49) is an enzyme whose central function is associated with polymers of nucleic acids 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 replication and transcription. In association with a cluster of other enzymes and proteins, they take nucleotides from solvent, 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 biopolymers are not also referred to as polymerases.

One particular polymerase, from the thermophilic bacterium, Thermus aquaticus (Taq) (PDB 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:

For more information about Polymerase, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.