Replisomal coupling between the α-pol III core and the τ-subunit of the clamp loader complex (CLC) are essential for genomic integrity in Escherichia coli.

ABSTRACT: Coupling interactions between the alpha (α) subunit of the polymerase III core (α-Pol III core) and the tau (τ) subunit of the clamp loader complex (τ-CLC) are vital for efficient and rapid DNA replication in Escherichia coli. Specific and targeted mutations in the C-terminal τ-interaction region of the Pol III α-subunit disrupted efficient coupled rolling circle DNA synthesis in vitro and caused significant genomic defects in CRISPR-Cas9 dnaE edited cell strains. These α-Pol III mutations eliminated the interaction with τ-CLC but retained WT polymerase and exonuclease activities. The most severely affected mutant strains, dnaE:Y1119A and dnaE:L1097/8S, had significantly reduced doubling times, reduced fitness, and increased cellular length phenotypes as a result of this targeted decouplin

SUBMITTER: Butterworth LJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11869525 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature