• Skip to Content
  • Skip to Main Navigation
  • Skip to Search

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington IU Bloomington

Open Search Menu

The College of Arts & Sciences

Biochemistry Graduate Program

  • Home
  • About
    • Director of Graduate Studies Message
    • Faculty
    • Staff
    • About Bloomington
  • Graduate Program
    • Funding Opportunities
    • Student Experience
    • BIOC Graduate Representative Committee
    • Current Graduate Students
    • How to Apply
  • Research
    • Genome Biochemistry
    • Supramolecular Complexes
    • Publications
  • Labs & Facilities
    • Simon Hall Facilities
    • IU Facilities
    • Faculty Labs
  • News & Events
    • Program News
    • Biochemistry and Chemical Biology Seminar
    • BMB Research Series
    • Ph.D. Defenses/Prelims
  • Search
  • Contact
  • Student Portal
  • Program News
  • Biochemistry and Chemical Biology Seminar
  • BMB Research Series
  • Ph.D. Defenses/Prelims
  • Home
  • News & Events
  • Program News
  • New work from Steve Bell’s lab published in Nature Communications

New work from Steve Bell’s lab published in Nature Communications

Friday, January 21, 2022

Stephen Bell
Steve Bell

The lab of Stephen Bell have published a new article in Nature Communications, entitled "The combined DNA and RNA synthetic capabilities of archaeal DNA primase facilitate primer hand-off to the replicative DNA polymerase." 

Extract: "Replicative DNA polymerases cannot initiate DNA synthesis de novo and rely on dedicated RNA polymerases, primases, to generate a short primer. This primer is then extended by the DNA polymerase. In diverse archaeal species, the primase has long been known to have the ability to synthesize both RNA and DNA. However, the relevance of these dual nucleic acid synthetic modes for productive primer synthesis has remained enigmatic. In the current work, we reveal that the ability of primase to polymerize DNA serves dual roles in promoting the hand-off of the primer to the replicative DNA polymerase holoenzyme. First, it creates a 5′RNA-DNA-3′ hybrid primer which serves as an optimal substrate for elongation by the replicative DNA polymerase. Second, it promotes primer release by primase. Furthermore, modeling and experimental data indicate that primase incorporates a deoxyribonucleotide stochastically during elongation and that this switches the primase into a dedicated DNA synthetic mode polymerase."

Interdisciplinary Biochemistry Program social media channels

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • College of Arts & Sciences
  • Interdisciplinary Biochemistry Program

The College of Arts & Sciences

Indiana University

Copyright © 2025 The Trustees of Indiana University

Accessibility | College Scorecard | Privacy Notice

The College of Arts & Sciences

  • About
    • Director of Graduate Studies Message
    • Faculty
    • Staff
    • About Bloomington
      • Music + Entertainment
      • Food + Restaurants
      • Sports + Fitness
  • Graduate Program
    • Funding Opportunities
    • Student Experience
    • BIOC Graduate Representative Committee
    • Current Graduate Students
    • How to Apply
      • Domestic Applicants
        • Domestic FAQs
      • International Applicants
        • International FAQs
  • Research
    • Genome Biochemistry
    • Supramolecular Complexes
    • Publications
  • Labs & Facilities
    • Simon Hall Facilities
    • IU Facilities
    • Faculty Labs
  • News & Events
    • Program News
    • Biochemistry and Chemical Biology Seminar
    • BMB Research Series
    • Ph.D. Defenses/Prelims
  • Contact
  • Student Portal