Stereochemical control of DNA biosynthesis

Stereochemical control of DNA biosynthesis was studied using several DNA-synthesizing complexes containing, in each case, a single substitution of a 2′-deoxy-d-nucleotide residue by an enantiomeric l-nucleotide residue in a DNA chain (either in the primer or in the template) as well as 2′-deoxy-l-ribonucleoside 5′-triphosphates (l-dNTPs) as substrates. Three template-dependent DNA polymerases were tested, Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I Klenow fragment, Thermus aquaticus DNA polymerase and avian myeloblastosis virus reverse transcriptase, as well as template-independent calf-thymus terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase. Very stringent control of stereoselectivity was demonstrated for template-dependent DNA polymerases, whereas terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase was less selective. DNA polymerase I and reverse transcriptase catalyzed formation of dinucleoside 5′,5′-tetraphosphates when l-dTTP was used as substrate. Comparison between models of template–primer complexes, modified or not by a single l-nucleotide residue, revealed striking differences in their geometry.