Polymerase DNA Directed Alpha 2 (POLa2)

PolA2 is a single copy gene in Arabidopsis and shows highly conserved regions with putative homologs in other plant species. Insertional inactivation of PolA2 in Arabidopsis leads to embryo lethality, with developmental arrest at or before the four-cell stage during embryogenesis. PolA2 is expressed broadly in the early phases of embryo development during the period of active cell divisions, while during the later stages of development expression is reduced and more localized. Ectopic overexpression of PolA2 produced dominant negative phenotypes with gametic and embryo lethality suggesting that coordinated and parallel expression with other subunits is critical for its proper function in DNA replication and plant development.