Sulfolobus solfataricus P2 DNA polymerase IV (Dpo4) is a thermostable archaeal enzyme and a member of the error-prone and lesion-bypass Y-family. In this paper, for the first time, the fidelity of a Y-family polymerase, Dpo4, was determined using pre-steady-state kinetic analysis of the incorporation of a single nucleotide into an undamaged DNA substrate 21/41-mer at 37 degrees C. We assessed single-turnover (with Dpo4 in molar excess over DNA) saturation kinetics for all 16 possible nucleotide incorporations. The fidelity of Dpo4 was estimated to be in the range of 10(-3)-10(-4). Interestingly, the ground-state binding affinity of correct nucleotides (70-230 microM) is 10-50-fold weaker than those of replicative DNA polymerases. Such a low affinity is consistent with the lack of interactions between Dpo4 and the bound nucleotides as revealed in the crystal structure of Dpo4, DNA, and a matched nucleotide. The affinity of incorrect nucleotides for Dpo4 is approximately 2-10-fold weaker than that of correct nucleotides. Intriguingly, the mismatched dCTP has an affinity similar to that of the matched nucleotides when it is incorporated against a pyrimidine template base flanked by a 5'-template guanine. The incoming dCTP likely skips the first available template base and base pairs with the 5'-template guanine, as observed in the crystal structure of Dpo4, DNA, and a mismatched nucleotide. The mismatch incorporation rates, regardless of the 5'-template base, were approximately 2-3 orders of magnitude slower than the incorporation rates for matched nucleotides, which is the predominant contribution to the fidelity of Dpo4.
Historical Protein Properties (MW, pI, ...), Other Enzymatic Activities, Kinetic Parameters, Structure and Structure/Function, Fidelity