DNA polymerases are indispensable for maintaining the integrity of the genome, both
through faithful replication of DNA and by repairing damage to DNA. Among the 16 highly
specialized mammalian polymerases, 15 are involved in maintaining nuclear genetic
information. Polymerases R,, δ, and ϵ function in replication and repair of nuclear DNA, and
the remaining nuclear DNA polymerases participate in either translesion synthesis to
prevent the arrest of nuclear DNA replication, in DNA repair, or in somatic hypermutation …

Mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) are associated with aging, and they can cause
tissue degeneration and neuromuscular pathologies known as mitochondrial diseases.
Because DNA polymerase γ (pol γ) is the enzyme responsible for replication and repair of
mitochondrial DNA, the burden of faithful duplication of mitochondrial DNA, both in
preventing spontaneous errors and in DNA repair synthesis, falls on pol γ. Investigating the
biological functions of pol γ and its inhibitors aids our understanding of the sources of …