POLG

High school (ages 12+)
Human Body

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/polg

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?DNA polymerase subunit gamma
2. What is the gene encoding?POLG1
3. What does POLG do in our cells?POLG is a tiny copy machine that makes perfect copies of the DNA inside our mitochondria. It helps keep the instructions for making energy accurate.
4. Why is POLG important for our energy?Because it keeps the mitochondrial DNA correct, so the cell can build the proteins that produce the energy we need to move and think.

Catalytic Subunit: The part of an enzyme that directly participates in the chemical reaction.
Mitochondrial Genome: The DNA found within mitochondria, distinct from the nuclear genome.
Exonuclease Activity: The ability of an enzyme to remove nucleotides from the end of a DNA strand.
Heterotrimeric: Composed of three different polypeptide subunits.