A tale of topoisomerases and the knotty genetic material in the backdrop of Plasmodium biology.

ABSTRACT: The untangling or overwinding of genetic material is an inevitable part of DNA replication, repair, recombination, and transcription. Topoisomerases belong to a conserved enzyme family that amends DNA topology during various processes of DNA metabolism. To relax the genetic material, topoisomerases transiently break the phosphodiester bond on one or both DNA strands and remain associated with the cleavage site by forming a covalent enzyme-DNA intermediate. This releases torsional stress and allows the broken DNA to be re-ligated by the enzyme. The biological function of topoisomerases ranges from the separation of sister chromatids following DNA replication to the aiding of chromosome condensation and segregation during mitosis. Topoisomerases are also actively involved in meiotic recombin

SUBMITTER: Singh P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9261774 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature