This gene encodes the 125-kDa catalytic subunit of DNA polymerase delta. DNA polymerase delta possesses both polymerase and 3' to 5' exonuclease activity and plays a critical role in DNA replication and repair. Alternatively spliced transcript variants have been observed for this gene, and a pseudogene of this gene is located on the long arm of chromosome 6. [provided by RefSeq, Mar 2012]