background:
This gene encodes the 58 kilodalton subunit of DNA primase, an enzyme that plays a key role in the replication of DNA. The encoded protein forms a heterodimer with a 49 kilodalton subunit. This heterodimer functions as a DNA-directed RNA polymerase to synthesize small RNA primers that are used to create Okazaki fragments on the lagging strand of the DNA. [provided by RefSeq, Sep 2013]
Function:
DNA primase synthesizes small ribonucleotide primers for the initiation of DNA replication. The eukaryotic primase is a heterodimer of a small and a large subunit, p49 and p58 respectively. These two subunits purify as a complex tightly bound to DNA polymerase alpha. This tight association implicates polymerase alpha as the lagging-strand DNA polymerase in replication. Uniquely, primases are able to synthesize nucleotides de novo on a template by the formation of an initial dinucleotide. DNA primase initiates synthesis with a triphosphate purine moiety at the 5'-end. After synthesis of 7-10 ribonucleotides, the primer template is translocated intramolecularly to the active site of the DNA polymerase alpha subunit. The p49 subunit of DNA primase contains the catalytic active site. The human primase subunits are 90% identical in amino acid sequence to the mouse homologs.
Subunit:
Heterodimer of a small subunit and a large subunit.
Similarity:
Belongs to the eukaryotic-type primase large subunit family.
Database links:
Entrez Gene: 5558 Human
Entrez Gene: 301323 Rat
GenBank: NP_000938.2 Human
Omim: 176636 Human
SwissProt: P49643 Human
SwissProt: O89044 Rat
Unigene: 654580 Human
Important Note:
This product as supplied is intended for research use only, not for use in human, therapeutic or diagnostic applications.
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