Calf thymus DNA polymerase delta: purification, biochemical and functional properties of the enzyme after its separation from DNA polymerase alpha, a DNA dependent ATPase and proliferating cell nuclear antigen.

We have established a novel procedure to purify calf thymus DNA polymerase delta from cytoplasmic extracts. The enzyme has typical properties of DNA polymerase delta including a 3' - greater than 5' exonuclease activity and efficiently replicates natural occurring genomes such as primed single-stranded M13 DNA and single-stranded porcine circovirus DNA, this last one thanks to an associated or contaminating primase activity. A processivity of at least a thousand bases was evident and this in the apparent absence of proliferating cell nuclear antigen. The enzyme was purified through a procedure that allows the simultaneous isolation of DNA polymerase delta, DNA polymerase alpha-primase and a DNA dependent ATPase. All these enzymes coeluted from a phosphocellulose column. After chromatography on hydroxylapatite DNA polymerase delta separated from the coeluting DNA polymerase alpha and DNA dependent ATPase. Separation of the latter two was achieved on heparin-Sepharose. DNA polymerase delta was further purified by heparin-Sepharose and fast protein liquid chromatography. Purified DNA polymerase delta was resistant to the DNA polymerase alpha inhibitors BuPdGTP and BuAdATP and did not react with DNA polymerase alpha monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies. Based on this isolation protocol we can start to test biochemically the hypothesis whether DNA polymerase delta and DNA polymerase alpha might act coordinately at the replication fork as leading and lagging strand replicases, respectively.