InterPro domain: IPR014052

DNA primase [ 1 ] synthesizes the RNA primers for the Okazaki fragments in lagging strand DNA synthesis. DNA primase is a heterodimer of large (p60) and small (p50) subunits in eukaryotes.

This entry represents the eukaryotic and archaeal DNA primase small subunit proteins, and does not include bacterial or viral proteins. Bacterial DNA primase adopts a different fold to archaeal and eukaryotic primases [ 2 ].

1. Mutations in conserved yeast DNA primase domains impair DNA replication in vivo. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 88, 3877-81
2. Origin and evolution of the archaeo-eukaryotic primase superfamily and related palm-domain proteins: structural insights and new members. Nucleic Acids Res. 33, 3875-96