| Description |
While much has been learned regarding the types of DNA sequences elongated by telomerase, the conventional assay for telomerase activity shows only the final products of telomerase addition (5). The activity assay, therefore, cannot be used to directly explore the role of the telomerase RNA and proteins in primer recognition or binding. The major goal of this project was to develop a DNA binding assay for telomerase and to use that assay to gain information regarding the mechanism of telomere binding. One specific goal was to determine if the telomerase RNA component, which is already known to be responsible for priming the addition of telomeric sequence (4), is also responsible for recognition and binding of telomeric sequences. A second specific goal of the project was to use the DNA binding assay to obtain information useful in the confirmation of the protein composition of telomerase and in the identification of the DNA-binding subunits. |
