Only when the geometry is perfect does the enzyme proceed to the next stage, preventing the incorporation of incorrect bases. Each incoming dNTP carries three phosphates, and the cleavage of the pyrophosphate bond provides the driving force for bond formation.
How DNA Polymerase Scans the Template Strand to Ensure Accurate Nucleotide Addition
DNA polymerase is not a static clamp; it undergoes conformational changes upon nucleotide binding. This oxygen atom attacks the alpha-phosphate of the incoming dNTP, displacing the beta and gamma phosphates as pyrophosphate.
Adenine is positioned to pair with thymine, and guanine is positioned to pair with cytosine. This enzyme does not act randomly; it reads the existing strand and selects only those building blocks that can form correct base pairs.
How DNA Polymerase Scans the Template Strand to Ensure Accurate Nucleotide Addition
The result is the formation of a phosphodiester bond that links the new nucleotide to the chain. DNA polymerase interacts with sliding clamps and other accessory proteins that tether it to the template.
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