Structures of the clamp loader–clamp complex reveal that nature uses machined parts in the form of a spiral scaffold (the clamp loader) to thread a circlet (the clamp) on a helix of DNA. The scaffold is then replaced by an interpretive copying machine, the polymerase, to eventually generate the replisome for DNA replication.
- Zhihao Zhuang
- Michelle M Spiering
- Stephen J Benkovic
