Molecular Biology
Polymerase
An enzyme that synthesizes long chains of nucleic acids (DNA or RNA) by reading a template strand. DNA polymerase copies DNA; RNA polymerase transcribes DNA into RNA.
Biological Context
Polymerases are molecular machines that read templates and assemble copies. They include proofreading capabilities to minimize errors. PCR (polymerase chain reaction) uses heat-stable polymerases to amplify DNA.
Business Application
Organizational polymerases: the people and processes that copy and propagate information. Training programs, documentation systems, and knowledge transfer mechanisms are business polymerases.