What is the Role of Primers in DNA Synthesis and Do They Have Any Other Uses?
By Dan Piziali DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the genetic information carrier for almost all life on earth. It is responsible for determining how an organism develops. It also codes for the production of many important biomolecules essential for cellular function. As a cell divides, the DNA must be replicated and maintained, so that each cell has the identical genetic content of the parent cell. Thus, the process of DNA synthesis is critical to an organism’s survival. Primers are an essential and important component of this synthesis. Replication is performed by DNA polymerases. These amazing proteins are able to read a template strand and attach the correct deoxyribonucleotide. However, DNA polymerases can only attach them onto the 3′-OH end of another deoxyribonucleotide. Primers are small pieces of RNA, ribonucleic acid, about five to fifteen nucleotides long. They are made by a form of RNA polymerase called primase. Primase, unlike DNA polymerases, does not require a free 3′-OH
