CST complex subunit STN1 (STN1)

Part of the CST complex proposed to act as a technical replication factor promoting DNA replication under conditions of replication stress or natural replication barriers such as the telomere duplex. The CST complex binds single-stranded DNA with high affinity in a sequence-independent manner, while isolated subunits bind DNA with low affinity by themselves.

Initially the CST complex was proposed to protect telomeres from DNA degradation (PubMed:19854130). However, the CST complex was shown to be involved in a number of aspects of telomere replication.