Enzymes enable life by catalysing chemical changes that would otherwise take too long for an organism. One of the worlds of the transition is most interested in is critical to all life on Earth: the mechanism by which DNA is replicated and repaired.
A research team revealed new information on a critical enzyme that allows DNA sequencing to take place. The discovery is a significant step forward for the Next-Generation Sequencing Market as it could help develop the future of customised medicine. After that, the doctors will be able to create medicines based on the genomes of specific patients.
The molecule the UCI-led team studied is an enzyme called Taq. The name is derived from the microorganism it was first discovered in, Thermos aquaticus. Taq is a DNA replicator. The polymerase chain reaction is a technique with numerous uses, including forensics and PCR tests.
The researchers discovered that Taq, which aids in the replication of DNA, behaves radically contrary to what scientists previously believed. It doesn't like a well-oiled, efficient machine constantly churning out DNA copies, the enzyme. Instead, it behaves like an indiscriminate shopper who explores the aisles of a store, tossing everything they see into the shopping cart.
Rather than carefully picking each component to add to the DNA chain, the enzyme captures dozens of misfits for each successfully attached piece. Like a shopper ticking goods off a shopping list, the enzyme compares each part to the DNA sequence it's attempting to reproduce.
Every person has a little different genome, with different mutations in different places. Some are to blame for diseases, while others are to blame for nothing. To truly determine whether these distinctions are significant in healthcare, one must first understand the distinctions for effectively prescribing medications.
No one knows how these enzymes accomplish their accuracy. It is challenging to assure a patient that their DNA has been sequenced appropriately especially when it differs from the acknowledged human genome. Then the question arises whether the patient actually has an uncommon mutation, or did the enzyme make a mistake?
This work could be utilised to create enhanced versions of Taq that spend less time answering such questions.