Insights into okazaki fragment synthesis by the T4 replisome: The fate of lagging-strand holoenzyme components and their influence on okazaki fragment size

Background: The T4 replisome duplicates the lagging DNA strand through discontinuous Okazaki fragments. Results: A third polymerase is not involved in repetitive Okazaki fragment synthesis. Conclusion: The T4 replisome recycles the lagging-strand polymerase but looses the clamp in each Okazaki fragment cycle through a collision or signaling pathway. Significance: Elucidation of the behavior of polymerase, clamp and clamp loader for Okazaki fragment synthesis broadens our understanding of coordinated DNA replication.