Incorporation of Thymine Nucleotides by DNA Polymerases through T–Hg^II–T Base Pairing

Abstract

A dangerous matchmaker: In the presence of HgII ions, DNA polymerases incorporated thymidine 5′-triphosphate (TTP) at the site opposite thymine in a template strand and made a phosphodiester bond to elongate the primer strand. This unusual metal-mediated base pair was recognized by the DNA polymerases, which went on to synthesize the full-length product (see picture). Detailed facts of importance to specialist readers are published as ”Supporting Information”. Such documents are peer-reviewed, but not copy-edited or typeset. They are made available as submitted by the authors. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.