DNA polymerase iota alleviates replication stress-induced genome instability during mitosis | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article DNA polymerase iota alleviates replication stress-induced genome instability during mitosis Lei Li, Can Yi, Sirui Cheng, Mengjia Lin, Rui Wang, Landing Li, and 15 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6847636/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract DNA polymerase iota (Pol ι) is a Y-family lesion bypass polymerases, characterized by its remarkably low fidelity. While Pol ι is ubiquitously expressed in nearly all cell types, its function remains largely undefined. Previous studies in cellular and mouse models deficient in Pol ι have revealed no discernible phenotype. In this report, we show that Pol ι plays an important role in mitotic DNA synthesis. Cells lacking Pol ι exhibit heightened vulnerability to replication stress, increased formation of micronuclei, and accumulation of chromosomal breaks. The protein level of Pol ι is tightly regulated and restricted to G2/M phase cells via CRL7/FBXW11-mediated proteasomal degradation. The absence of Pol ι during S phase ensures that its error-prone DNA synthesis activity is excluded from interfering with normal DNA replication. These findings suggest that Pol ι function is critical in resolving DNA damage-induced replication stress prior to the completion of mitosis. Biological sciences/Cell biology/Cell division/DNA replication/Translesion synthesis Biological sciences/Molecular biology/DNA damage and repair/DNA damage response Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6847636","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":473136319,"identity":"7910d3e2-6f45-4382-b537-bf2bee4caa16","order_by":0,"name":"Lei 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