DNA Polymerase Activities of Human Milk

Abstract

DNA polymerases have been partially purified from human milk. A DNA polymerase detected by phosphocellulose chromatography is similar to the enzymes of RNA tumor viruses in that a hybrid of polyriboadenylate and oligodeoxythymidylate is a better template than is DNA. However, this polymerase differed from that of the RNA tumor viruses in its chromatographic behavior. Three different methods of detecting "reverse transcriptase" activity failed to correlate with the donor's family history of cancer.