POLRMT
Encyclopedia
DNA-directed RNA polymerase, mitochondrial is an enzyme
that in humans is encoded by the POLRMT gene
.
DNA-directed RNA polymerase
. The gene product is responsible for mitochondrial gene expression as well as for providing RNA primers
for initiation of replication of the mitochondrial genome. Although this polypeptide has the same function as the three nuclear DNA-directed RNA polymerases, it is more closely related to RNA polymerases of bacteriophage
and mitochondrial polymerases of lower eukaryote
s.
Enzyme
Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...
that in humans is encoded by the POLRMT gene
Gene
A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...
.
Function
This gene encodes a mitochondrialMitochondrion
In cell biology, a mitochondrion is a membrane-enclosed organelle found in most eukaryotic cells. These organelles range from 0.5 to 1.0 micrometers in diameter...
DNA-directed RNA polymerase
RNA polymerase
RNA polymerase is an enzyme that produces RNA. In cells, RNAP is needed for constructing RNA chains from DNA genes as templates, a process called transcription. RNA polymerase enzymes are essential to life and are found in all organisms and many viruses...
. The gene product is responsible for mitochondrial gene expression as well as for providing RNA primers
Primer (molecular biology)
A primer is a strand of nucleic acid that serves as a starting point for DNA synthesis. They are required for DNA replication because the enzymes that catalyze this process, DNA polymerases, can only add new nucleotides to an existing strand of DNA...
for initiation of replication of the mitochondrial genome. Although this polypeptide has the same function as the three nuclear DNA-directed RNA polymerases, it is more closely related to RNA polymerases of bacteriophage
Bacteriophage
A bacteriophage is any one of a number of viruses that infect bacteria. They do this by injecting genetic material, which they carry enclosed in an outer protein capsid...
and mitochondrial polymerases of lower eukaryote
Eukaryote
A eukaryote is an organism whose cells contain complex structures enclosed within membranes. Eukaryotes may more formally be referred to as the taxon Eukarya or Eukaryota. The defining membrane-bound structure that sets eukaryotic cells apart from prokaryotic cells is the nucleus, or nuclear...
s.