X-ray structure of the complex of regulatory subunits of human DNA polymerase δ

The eukaryotic DNA polymerase δ (Pol δ) participates in genome replication, homologous recombination, DNA repair and damage tolerance. Regulation of the plethora of Pol δ functions depends on the interaction between the second (p50) and third (p66) non-catalytic subunits. We report the crystal structure of p50•p66_N complex featuring oligonucleotide binding and phosphodiesterase domains in p50 and winged helix-turn-helix N-terminal domain in p66. Disruption of the interaction between the yeast orthologs of p50 and p66 by strategic amino acid changes leads to cold-sensitivity, sensitivity to hydroxyurea and to reduced UV mutagenesis, mimicking the phenotypes of strains where the third subunit of Pol δ is absent. The second subunits of all B family replicative DNA polymerases in archaea and eukaryotes, except Pol δ, share a three-domain structure similar to p50•p66_N, raising the possibility that a portion of the gene encoding p66 was derived from the second subunit gene relatively late in evolution.