Sixteen eukaryotic DNA polymerases have been identified and studied so far. Based on the sequence similarity of the catalytic subunits of DNA polymerases, these have been classified into four A, B, X and Y families except PrimPol, which belongs to the AEP family. The quaternary structure of these polymerases also varies depending upon whether they are composed of one or more subunits. Therefore, in this review, we used a quaternary structure-based classification approach to group DNA polymerases as either monomeric or multimeric and highlighted functional significance of their accessory subunits. Additionally, we have briefly summarized various DNA polymerase discoveries from a historical perspective, emphasized unique catalytic mechanism of each DNA polymerase and highlighted recent advances in understanding their cellular functions.

迄今为止，已经鉴定和研究了十六种真核DNA聚合酶。根据DNA聚合酶催化亚基的序列相似性，除PrimPol（属于AEP家族）外，它们已分为四个A，B，X和Y家族。这些聚合酶的四级结构也取决于它们是否由一个或多个亚基组成。因此，在这篇综述中，我们使用了基于四级结构的分类方法将DNA聚合酶分为单体型或多聚体，并突出了其辅助亚基的功能意义。此外，我们从历史的角度简要总结了各种DNA聚合酶的发现，强调了每种DNA聚合酶的独特催化机制，并着重介绍了了解其细胞功能的最新进展。