We all know that cancer is mostly caused by rare genetic mutations of a specific gene. We also know that DNA polymerase III repairs mismatches of base pairs during DNA replication or recombination processes.
As DNA polymerase III is always responsible for this proofreading or correction, why does DNA olymerase III can’t repair the base pair mismatches that cause cancer?
Hi there,
Introduction of point mutation in DNA does not always involve mismatch. For instance, tautomeric shift is responsible for transient unusual base pairing during replication which is not detected as mismatch and therefore leads to point mutation at the next cycle of replication.
Sir (Dominique liger),
As DNA polymerase III is responsible for all base pair related mismatch correction,so if some one's DNA polymerase III lost its complete function due to a rare mutation then what happen to that individual ? or is there any evidence found in the world that related to DNA polymerase mutation,or why we are not taking its a possible cause of cancer ?
Hi there,
I'm not a specialist of DNA polymerase but I think any mutation altering its basic essential activity (replication and correction) would be lethal from the start because of high frequency of mutations in DNA due to the failure of DNA pol to correct them... However, there are some papers describing the possible link :
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24583393
DNA polymerase III is prokaryotic. We eukaryotes have several different DNA polymerases, some having proofreading activity, some being less careful but can effectively replicate through difficult structures such as DNA lesions or stalled replication forks (translesion pols), at the expense of fidelity.
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