What structural feature causes an incorrect base incorporated by DNA Polymerase to be less stable in the active site?
Answer
The geometry of the active site is distorted
If an incorrect base is incorporated, the geometry of the active site becomes distorted, creating strain and making the incorrect base less stable, allowing rejection before permanent bond formation.
Related Questions
Which enzyme is the first line of defense against replication mistakes due to its structural selectivity?Approximately how often does DNA Polymerase incorporate the wrong nucleotide before dedicated repair mechanisms intervene?What structural feature causes an incorrect base incorporated by DNA Polymerase to be less stable in the active site?What is the name of the built-in corrective mechanism that acts as an immediate editor during replication?What action does the $3'$ to $5'$ exonuclease activity perform when it detects an error?By what factor does the $3'$ to $5'$ exonuclease proofreading step typically improve fidelity over the initial insertion rate?What is the name of the final safety net system that scans DNA after the replication fork has moved on?In *E. coli*, how does the Mismatch Repair (MMR) system identify which strand contains the error?What is the approximate overall error rate achieved after the Mismatch Repair (MMR) system has corrected the remaining mistakes?What state accelerates when the checkpoints ensuring DNA replication accuracy are compromised?