Reclassification of family A DNA polymerases reveals novel functional subfamilies and distinctive structural features.

ABSTRACT: Family A DNA polymerases (PolAs) form an important and well-studied class of extant polymerases participating in DNA replication and repair. Nonetheless, despite the characterization of multiple subfamilies in independent, dedicated works, their comprehensive classification thus far is missing. We therefore re-examine all presently available PolA sequences, converting their pairwise similarities into positions in Euclidean space, separating them into 19 major clusters. While 11 of them correspond to known subfamilies, eight had not been characterized before. For every group, we compile their general characteristics, examine their phylogenetic relationships and perform conservation analysis in the essential sequence motifs. While most subfamilies are linked to a particular domain of life (i

SUBMITTER: Czernecki D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10201439 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature