RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Human DNA polymerase delta is a pentameric holoenzyme with a dimeric p12 subunit JF Life Science Alliance JO Life Sci. Alliance FD Life Science Alliance LLC SP e201900323 DO 10.26508/lsa.201900323 VO 2 IS 2 A1 Prashant Khandagale A1 Doureradjou Peroumal A1 Kodavati Manohar A1 Narottam Acharya YR 2019 UL https://www.life-science-alliance.org/content/2/2/e201900323.abstract AB Human DNA polymerase delta (Polδ), a holoenzyme consisting of p125, p50, p68, and p12 subunits, plays an essential role in DNA replication, repair, and recombination. Herein, using multiple physicochemical and cellular approaches, we found that the p12 protein forms a dimer in solution. In vitro reconstitution and pull down of cellular Polδ by tagged p12 substantiate the pentameric nature of this critical holoenzyme. Furthermore, a consensus proliferating nuclear antigen (PCNA) interaction protein motif at the extreme carboxyl-terminal tail and a homodimerization domain at the amino terminus of the p12 subunit were identified. Mutational analyses of these motifs in p12 suggest that dimerization facilitates p12 binding to the interdomain connecting loop of PCNA. In addition, we observed that oligomerization of the smallest subunit of Polδ is evolutionarily conserved as Cdm1 of Schizosaccharomyces pombe also dimerizes. Thus, we suggest that human Polδ is a pentameric complex with a dimeric p12 subunit, and discuss implications of p12 dimerization in enzyme architecture and PCNA interaction during DNA replication.