Genomes of all living organisms are constantly threatened by endogenous and exogenous
agents that challenge the chemical integrity of DNA. Most bacteria have evolved a …

DNA replication in Escherichia coli initiates at oriC, the origin of replication and proceeds
bidirectionally, resulting in two replication forks that travel in opposite directions from the …

Translesion DNA synthesis (TLS) by specialized DNA polymerases (Pols) is a conserved
mechanism for tolerating replication blocking DNA lesions. The actions of TLS Pols are …

Abstract DNA polymerase III (DNA pol III) is a multi-subunit replication machine responsible
for the accurate and rapid replication of bacterial genomes, however, how it functions in …

The ability for DNA polymerases (Pols) to overcome a variety of obstacles in its path to
maintain genomic stability during replication is a complex endeavor. It requires the …

The complex binding dynamics between DNA and proteins are often obscured by ensemble
averaging effects in conventional biochemical experiments. Single-molecule fluorescence …

The Escherichia coli SOS response, an induced DNA damage response pathway, confers
survival on bacterial cells by providing accurate repair mechanisms as well as the potentially …

Escherichia coli cells that are exposed to DNA damaging agents invoke the SOS response
that involves expression of the umuD gene products, along with more than 50 other genes …

As the blueprint for cellular functions, DNA must be properly maintained and copied.
Exposure to DNA damaging agents leads to formation of genomic lesions which cause …

DNA replication is an essential process that must proceed from start to end without failure.
The Escherichia coli cellular replication machine or “replisome” is composed of a dozen or …