Component of the helicase/primase complex. Unwinds the DNA at the replication forks and generates single-stranded DNA for both leading and lagging strand synthesis. The primase synthesizes short RNA primers on the lagging strand that the polymerase presumably elongates using dNTPs. The primase-associated factor has no known catalytic activity in the complex and may serve to facilitate the formation of the replisome by directly interacting with the origin-binding protein and the polymerase