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7 Dewar JM, Walter JC ( 2017) Mechanisms of DNA replication termination.6 Elshenawy MM, Jergic S, Xu ZQ, Sobhy MA, Takahashi M, Oakley AJ, Dixon NE, Hamdan SM ( 2015) Replisome speed determines the efficiency of the Tus- Ter replication termination barrier.5 Mulcair MD, Schaeffer PM, Oakley AJ, Cross HF, Neylon C, Hill TM, Dixon NE ( 2006) A molecular mousetrap determines polarity of termination of DNA replication in E.4 Yeeles JTP ( 2014) Discontinuous leading-strand synthesis: a stop-start story.3 van Eijk E, Wittekoek B, Kuijper EJ, Smits WK ( 2017) DNA replication proteins as potential targets for antimicrobials in drug-resistant bacterial pathogens.2 Robinson A, Causer RJ, Dixon NE ( 2012) Architecture and conservation of the bacterial DNA replication machinery, an underexploited drug target.1 Lee H, Popodi E, Tang H, Foster PL ( 2012) Rate and molecular spectrum of spontaneous mutations in the bacterium Escherichia coli as determined by whole-genome sequencing.Reviewed here is the structural biology of these bacterial DNA replication proteins and prospects for future research. Representative structures are available for most classes of DNA replication proteins, although there are gaps in our understanding of their interactions and the structural transitions that occur in nanomachines such as the helicase, clamp loader, and replicase core as they function. DnaB binds the DnaG primase that synthesizes RNA primers on both strands. DNA-clamps are required for the processivity of the DNA polymerase III core, a heterotrimer of α, ε, and θ, required for leading- and lagging-strand synthesis. These include nucleotide triphosphate-driven nanomachines such as the DNA-unwinding helicase DnaB and the clamp loader complex that loads DNA-clamps onto primer–template junctions. The proteins required to initiate, coordinate, and complete the replication process are best characterized in model organisms such as Escherichia coli. DNA replication mechanisms are conserved across all organisms.
