Figure 5.

Polymerase Slippage during DNA Replication at Repetitive Elements Leading to Duplication or Deletions.

Arrows indicate repeats and pairing homology.

(A) Slippage conferred by misalignment at tandem or direct repeats. If slippage occurs at the nascent (upper) strand, replication leads to duplication. Insertions are a result of slippage at the leading (lower) strand.

(B) Slippage conferred by a hairpin structure at palindrome or inverted repeats. Duplications are a result of a hairpin at the nascent (upper) strand. A hairpin at the leading (lower) strand confers a deletion.