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Regulation of the replication initiator protein p65cdc18 by CDK phosphorylation.

Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) promote the initiation of DNA replication and prevent reinitiation before mitosis, presumably through phosphorylation of key substrates at origins of replication. In fission yeast, the p65cdc18 protein is required to initiate DNA replication and interacts with the origin recognition complex (ORC) and the p34cdc2 CDK. Here we report that p65cdc18 becomes highly phosphorylated as cells undergo the G1 --> S phase transition. This modification is dependent on p34cdc2 protein kinase activity, as well as six consensus CDK phosphorylation sites within the p65cdc18 polypeptide. Genetic interactions between cdc18+ and the S-phase cyclin cig2+ suggest that CDK-dependent phosphorylation antagonizes cdc18+ function in vivo. Using site-directed mutagenesis, we show that phosphorylation at CDK consensus sites directly targets p65cdc18 for rapid degradation and inhibits its replication activity, as strong expression of a constitutively hypophosphorylated mutant form of p65cdc18 results in large amounts of DNA over-replication in vivo. Furthermore, the over-replication phenotype produced by this mutant p65cdc18 is resistant to increased mitotic cyclin/CDK activity, a known inhibitor of over-replication. Therefore, p65cdc18 is the first example of a cellular initiation factor directly regulated in vivo by CDK-dependent phosphorylation and proteolysis. Regulation of p65cdc18 by CDK phosphorylation is likely to contribute to the CDK-driven "replication switch" that restricts initiation at eukaryotic origins to once per cell cycle.

CDC2 Protein Kinase↗

Identification of Cdc6 protein domains involved in interaction with Mcm2 protein and Cdc4 protein in budding yeast cells.

The Cdc6 protein (Cdc6p) has essential roles in regulating initiation of DNA replication. Cdc6p is recruited to origins of replication by the origin recognition complex (ORC) late in mitosis; Cdc6p in turn recruits minichromosome maintenance (Mcm) proteins to form the pre-replicative complex. Cdc6p is thought to interact with one or more Mcm proteins but this point has not yet been demonstrated. In the present study we observed that Cdc6p interacted significantly only with Mcm2p out of six Mcm proteins in yeast two-hybrid cells. Our results indicate that the interaction of Cdc6p with Mcm2p is specific, although we cannot exclude the possibility that the interaction might not be direct. In attempts to identify domains of Cdc6p important for interaction with Mcm2p, we tested interactions of various deleted versions of Cdc6p with Mcm2p and also with Cdc4p, which was previously known to interact with Cdc6p. The portion of Cdc6p from amino acid residues 51 to 394 was able to interact with Mcm2p. During the course of the studies we also discovered a previously undetected Cdc4p interaction domain between residues 51 and 394. Interestingly, when all six putative Cdc28 phosphorylation sites in Cdc6p were changed to alanine, a 6-7-fold increase in binding to Mcm2p was observed. This result suggests that unphosphorylated Cdc6p has higher affinity than phosphorylated Cdc6p for Mcm2p; this might partly explain the previous observation that Cdc6p failed to load Mcm proteins on replication origins during S phase when the cyclin-dependent protein kinase was active, thus helping to prevent the reinitiation of activated replicons.

Amino Acid Motifs↗

Functional conservation of multiple elements in yeast chromosomal replicators.

Replicators that control the initiation of DNA replication in the chromosomes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae retain their function when cloned into plasmids, where they are commonly referred to as autonomously replicating sequences (ARSs). Previous studies of the structure of ARS1 in both plasmid and chromosome contexts have shown that it contains one essential DNA element, A, that includes a match to the ARS consensus sequence (ACS), and three additional elements, B1, B2, and B3, that are also important for ARS function. Elements A and B3 are bound by a candidate initiator protein called the origin recognition complex and ARS-binding factor 1, respectively. Although the A and B3 elements have been found in other ARSs, sequence comparisons among ARSs have failed to identify B1- and B2-like elements. To assess the generality of the modular nature of yeast replicators, linker substitution mutagenesis of another yeast chromosomal replicator, ARS307, was performed. Three DNA sequence elements were identified in ARS307, and they were demonstrated to be functionally equivalent to the A, B1, and B2 elements present in ARS1. Despite the lack of DNA sequence similarity, the B1 and B2 elements at each ARS were functionally conserved. Single-base substitutions in the core of the ARS1 B1 and B2 elements identified critical nucleotides required for the function of the B1 element. In contrast, no single-point mutations were found to affect B2 function. The results suggest that multiple DNA sequence elements might be a general and conserved feature of replicator sequences in S. cerevisiae.

Base Sequence↗

Replicator dominance in a eukaryotic chromosome.

Replicators are genetic elements that control initiation at an origin of DNA replication (ori). They were first identified in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as autonomously replicating sequences (ARSs) that confer on a plasmid the ability to replicate in the S phase of the cell cycle. The DNA sequences required for ARS function on a plasmid have been defined, but because many sequences that participate in ARS activity are not components of chromosomal replicators, a mutational analysis of the ARS1 replicator located on chromosome IV of S. cerevisiae was performed. The results of this analysis indicate that four DNA elements (A, B1, B2 and B3) are either essential or important for ori activation in the chromosome. In a yeast strain containing two closely spaced and identical copies of the ARS1 replicator in the chromosome, only one is active. The mechanism of replicator repression requires the essential A element of the active replicator. This element is the binding site for the origin recognition complex (ORC), a putative initiator protein. The process that determines which replicator is used, however, depends entirely upon flanking DNA sequences.

Chromosomes, Fungal↗

Differentiation-related mechanisms which suppress DNA replication.

Differentiation of mammalian cells implies cessation of DNA replication and cell proliferation; the potential controls of this coupling are examined here. It is clear that the known or proposed mechanisms of down-regulation of replicative cellular activities vary in different lineages of cell differentiation, and occur in all phases of the cell cycle. In G1 these regulators include p21/Cip1 or p27/Kip1, pRb, and p53; the novel, recently reported mechanisms of their action are summarized. In S phase the availability of nucleotide precursors, the origin recognition complex (ORC), and other replication proteins may be important in differentiation, and in G2 phase the cdc2/cyclin B complex and replication licensing factors determine normal G2 traverse versus an arrest or polyploidisation. Other replication-related mechanisms include transcription factors, e.g., Sp1, telomerase, and nuclear matrix changes. Thus, differentiation alters the activity not only of the various checkpoint proteins, but also of the components of the replicative machinery itself.

Animals↗

Mechanism of action of the Rep protein from the Dictyostelium Ddp2 plasmid family.

The two-hybrid system was used to show that the Rep proteins from three members of the Dictyostelium discoideum Ddp2 plasmid family, Ddp2, Ddp5, and Ddp6, form homomultimers but not heteromultimers when expressed in yeast cells. The results with deletion mutations suggest that multiple regions of the Rep proteins are involved in the multimerization. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays with heterologously expressed and purified Ddp2 Rep protein showed that it is a DNA binding protein. The nucleosomal organization of Ddp2 and Ddp6 in their inverted repeat and promoter regions was investigated. Analysis of mutants derived from the Ddp6 plasmid revealed that its Rep protein is required for nucleosome positioning (i.e., phasing) to occur in the promoter region. On the other hand, nucleosome positioning in the inverted repeat regions of both plasmids is not dependent on Rep protein but on either a feature of the DNA sequence or the binding of cellular factors, perhaps the Dictyostelium origin recognition complex. Rep protein is likely involved in transcription regulation and control of DNA replication, specifically amplification of plasmid at low copy numbers. The formation of homomultimers may be required for their regulatory activity.

Animals↗

The chorion genes of the medfly. II. DNA sequence evolution of the autosomal chorion genes s18, s15, s19 and s16 in Diptera.

We present a total of approximately 15 kb of DNA sequences, encompassing four chorion genes Ccs18, Ccs15, Ccs19, Cc16 and their flanking DNA in the medfly C. capitata. Comparison of coding regions, introns and intergenic sequences in five Dipteran species, D. melanogaster, D. subobscura, D. virilis, D. grimshawi and C. capitata documented an extensive divergence in introns and coding regions, but few well conserved elements in the proximal 5' flanking regions in all species. These elements are related to conserved regulatory features of three of the genes, including tissue- and temporal regulation. In the fourth, gene s15, significant alterations in the 5' flanking region may be responsible for its changed temporal regulation in C. capitata. One long intergenic sequence, located in the distal 5' flanking region of gene s18, is homologous to ACE3, a major amplification control element and contains an 80-bp A/T-rich sequence, known to stimulate strong binding of the origin recognition complex (ORC) in D. melanogaster. Analysis of the nucleotide composition of all chorion genes in C. capitata and D. melanogaster showed that C. capitata exhibit less biased representation of synonymous codons than does D. melanogaster.

Animals↗

ATPase switches controlling DNA replication initiation.

Proteins that bind and hydrolyze ATP are frequently involved in the early steps of DNA replication. Recent studies of Saccharomyces cerevisiae suggest that two members of the AAA+ ATPase family--the origin recognition complex and Cdc6p--have separable roles for ATP binding and ATP hydrolysis during eukaryotic DNA replication. Intriguingly, the proposed regulation of these eukaryotic replication proteins by ATP has functional similarities to the ATP-dependent control of the DnaA and DnaC initiation factors from Escherichia coli. Comparison of the ATP regulation of these factors suggests that ATP binding and hydrolysis acts as a molecular switch that couples key events during initiation of replication. This switch results in a significant change in protein function.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

Cell cycle control of replication initiation in eukaryotes.

Studies on the initiation of DNA replication in eukaryotes have progressed recently through different approaches that promise to converge. Proteins interacting with the origin recognition complex form a prereplicative complex early in the cell cycle. The regulation of the binding of MCM/P1 proteins to chromatin plays a key role in the replication licensing system which prevents re-replication in a single cell cycle. Cyclin-dependent kinases provide an overall control of the cell cycle by stimulating S-phase entry and possibly by preventing re-establishment of prereplicative complexes in G2 phase.

Cell Cycle↗

Cyclin-dependent kinases at the G1-S transition of the mammalian cell cycle.

In the mammalian cell cycle, the transition from the G1 phase to S phase, in which DNA replication occurs, is dependent on tight cell size control and has been shown to be regulated by the cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks) 2, 3, 4 and 6. Activities of Cdks are controlled by association with cyclins and reversible phosphorylation reactions. An additional level of regulation is provided by inhibitors of Cdks. G1-S and S phase substrates of these enzymes include proteins implicated in replication and transcription. Whereas the regulation and role of Cdk2, 4 and 6 has intensively been studied, less is known about Cdk3. Recent data provide first insights into the regulation of Cdk3-associate kinase activity and suggest a model how Cdk3 participates in the regulation of the G1-S transition. Although it has been shown that these G1-Cdks are absolutely essential for a proper transition into S phase, their physiological activation is not sufficient to directly initiate replication independently of cell size. Evidence obtained from yeast and Xenopus indicate the initiation of DNA replication to be a two-step process: the origin recognition complex, Cdc6 and Mcm proteins are required for establishing the prereplicative complex and the activities of Cdks and of Cdc7 kinase then trigger the G1-S transition. Recent findings provide evidence that the overall mechanism of initiation of replication is conserved in mammalian cells.

Animals↗

Chromatin and transcription--how transcription factors battle with a repressive chromatin environment.

The last year has seen much progress in our understanding of chromatin and transcription. Transcriptionally active chromatin has long been correlated with a higher level of histone acetlyation. The discovery of a nuclear histone acetyltransferase activity encoded by factors with a role in transcription raises the possibility that the cell is able to dynamically modulate the (local) level of histone acteylation, switching chromatin templates from inactive to transcriptionally active states. Furthermore, histone acetylation states have shown to play a role in determining the efficacy of transcriptionally silenced chromatin in both yeast and Drosophila. The advances in our knowledge regarding the role of the origin-recognition complex in the establishment of silencing, and the requirement for a locally concentrated zone of the silence information regulator proteins in the nucleus has provided insights into the complex architecture of silenced chromatin. The goal of understanding the mechanisms by which the cell is able to 'open' repressive chromatin structures has prompted the discovery of multiple chromatin remodelling activities. These large protein complexes identified from organisms as diverse as yeast, mouse, fly and man demonstrate the ubiquity and fundamental importance of the ability to perturb the structure of chromatin allowing transcription of the desired genes. These data provide the latest and potentially most significant demonstration of the importance of the nucleosome in the regulation of transcription.

Acetyltransferases↗

A role for the replication proteins PCNA, RF-C, polymerase epsilon and Cdc45 in transcriptional silencing in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Transcriptional silencing in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae may be linked to DNA replication and cell cycle progression. In this study, we have surveyed the effect of 41 mutations in genes with a role in replication, the cell cycle, and DNA repair on silencing at HMR. Mutations in PCNA (POL30), RF-C (CDC44), polymerase epsilon (POL2, DPB2, DPB11), and CDC45 were found to restore silencing at a mutant HMR silencer allele that was still a chromosomal origin of replication. Replication timing experiments indicated that the mutant HMR locus was replicated late in S-phase, at the same time as wild-type HMR. Restoration of silencing by PCNA and CDC45 mutations required the origin recognition complex binding site of the HMR-E silencer. Several models for the precise role of these replication proteins in silencing are discussed.

Carrier Proteins↗

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae MUM2 gene interacts with the DNA replication machinery and is required for meiotic levels of double strand breaks.

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae MUM2 gene is essential for meiotic, but not mitotic, DNA replication and thus sporulation. Genetic interactions between MUM2 and a component of the origin recognition complex and polymerase alpha-primase suggest that MUM2 influences the function of the DNA replication machinery. Early meiotic gene expression is induced to a much greater extent in mum2 cells than in meiotic cells treated with the DNA synthesis inhibitor hydroxyurea. This result indicates that the mum2 meiotic arrest is downstream of the arrest induced by hydroxyurea and suggests that DNA synthesis is initiated in the mutant. Genetic analyses indicate that the recombination that occurs in mum2 mutants is dependent on the normal recombination machinery and on synaptonemal complex components and therefore is not a consequence of lesions created by incompletely replicated DNA. Both meiotic ectopic and allelic recombination are similarly reduced in the mum2 mutant, and the levels are consistent with the levels of meiosis-specific DSBs that are generated. Cytological analyses of mum2 mutants show that chromosome pairing and synapsis occur, although at reduced levels compared to wild type. Given the near-wild-type levels of meiotic gene expression, pairing, and synapsis, we suggest that the reduction in DNA replication is directly responsible for the reduced level of DSBs and meiotic recombination.

Alleles↗

Analysis of mammalian proteins involved in chromatin modification reveals new metaphase centromeric proteins and distinct chromosomal distribution patterns.

We have examined the metaphase chromosomal localization of 15 proteins that have previously been described as involved in mammalian chromatin modification and/or transcriptional modulation. Immunofluorescence data indicate that all the proteins localize to human and mouse centromeres, a neocentromere, and the active centromere of a dicentric chromosome, with six of these proteins (Sin3A, PCAF, MYST, MBD2, ORC2, P300/CBP) being demonstrated at mammalian centromeres for the first time. Most of these proteins fall into two distinct chromosomal distribution patterns: (a) kinetochore-associated proteins (Sin3A, PCAF, MYST and BAF180), which colocalize with metaphase kinetochores, but not any of the pericentric and other major heterochromatic regions; and (b) heterochromatin-associated proteins (MeCP2, MBD1, MBD2, ATRX, HP1alpha, HDAC1, HDAC2, DNMT1 and DNMT3b), which colocalize with centromeric/pericentric heterochromatin and all other major heterochromatic sites. A heterogeneous third group (c) consists of the origin recognition complex subunit ORC2 and the histone acetyltransferase P300/CBP, which associate generally with kinetochores in humans and centromeric/pericentric heterochromatin in mouse, with some minor differences in localization. These observations indicate an extensive sharing of protein components involved in chromatin modification at gene loci, centromeres and various chromosomal heterochromatic landmarks. The definition of distinct patterns of chromosomal distribution for these proteins provides a useful basis for the further investigation of the broad-ranging roles of these proteins.

Animals↗

Localisation of the DmCdc45 DNA replication factor in the mitotic cycle and during chorion gene amplification.

The cdc45 protein was originally identified in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and shown to be essential for initiation of eukaryotic DNA replication. Subsequent isolation and characterisation of the corresponding genes from fission yeast, Xenopus and mammals also support a replication role for the protein in these species. They further suggest that during the course of its function cdc45 interacts with a number of other replication proteins, including minichromosome maintenance proteins, the origin recognition complex and DNA polymerase alpha. We have cloned the gene coding for cdc45 protein from Drosophila melanogaster. We have analysed the expression pattern of the cdc45 protein throughout the cell cycle and the life cycle using a combination of indirect immunofluorescence and subcellular fractionation. Our data show that cellular localisation and developmental regulation of the protein is consistent with a role in DNA replication. DmCdc45 is predominantly expressed in proliferating cells. In addition, its subcellular location is nuclear during interphase and the protein shows association with chromatin. The chromatin-associated form of the protein shows a post-translational modification, which may be involved in control of the action of the protein. DmCdc45 shows interactions with mcm proteins, however, the interactions detected show some specificity, perhaps suggesting a preferential association with particular mcm proteins. In addition we show that a stoichiometric mcm interaction may not be obligatory for the function of cdc45 in follicle cell replication, because, unlike the mcm proteins, DmCdc45 localises to the chorion amplification foci in the follicle cells of the ovary.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Licensing for DNA replication requires a strict sequential assembly of Cdc6 and Cdt1 onto chromatin in Xenopus egg extracts.

Replication origins are licensed for a single initiation event by the loading of Mcm2-7 proteins during late mitosis and G1. Sequential associations of origin recognition complex, Cdc6 and Mcm2-7 are essential for completion of the licensing. Although Cdt1 also binds to the chromatin when the licensing reaction takes place, whether the binding is a requirement for Cdt1 to function is unclear. To analyze the relevance of the chromatin association of Cdt1, we carried out chromatin transfer experiments using either immunodepleted Xenopus egg extracts or purified proteins. Licensing assay and immunoblotting analyses indicated that Cdt1 could only license DNA replication and load Mcm2-7 onto DNA when it binds to chromatin that has already associated with Cdc6. These results provide evidence supporting that Cdc6 and Cdt1 must bind to chromatin in a strict order for DNA licensing to occur.

Animals↗

The budding yeast silencing protein Sir1 is a functional component of centromeric chromatin.

In fission yeast and multicellular organisms, centromere-proximal regions of chromosomes are heterochromatic, containing proteins that silence gene expression. In contrast, the relationship between heterochromatin proteins and kinetochore function in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae remains largely unexplored. Here we report that the yeast heterochromatin protein Sir1 is a component of centromeric chromatin and contributes to mitotic chromosome stability. Sir1 recruitment to centromeres occurred through a novel mechanism independent of its interaction with the origin recognition complex (ORC). Sir1 function at centromeres was distinct from its role in forming heterochromatin, because the Sir2-4 proteins were not associated with centromeric regions. Sir1 bound to Cac1, a subunit of chromatin assembly factor I (CAF-I), and helped to retain Cac1 at centromeric loci. These studies reveal that although budding yeast and mammalian cells use fundamentally different mechanisms of forming heterochromatin, they both use silencing proteins to attract the histone deposition factor CAF-I to centromeric chromatin.

Calcium-Binding Proteins↗

Structure of the Sir3 protein bromo adjacent homology (BAH) domain from S. cerevisiae at 1.95 A resolution.

Sir3p is a silent-information-regulator (SIR) protein required for the assembly of a transcriptionally "silent" chromatin structure at telomeres and the cryptic HM mating-type loci in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Sir3p contains a putative "bromo adjacent homology" (BAH) domain at its N terminus that shares strong sequence similarity with the BAH domain of a subunit of the origin recognition complex (ORC), Orc1p. The Orc1p-BAH domain forms a well-defined complex with the ORC interaction region (OIR) of another Sir protein, Sir1p, which targets formation of silent chromatin to the HM-loci. Interestingly, despite sequence similarity of the Sir3p and Orc1p BAH domains and Sir3p's established importance in silencing, Sir3p does not bind the Sir1p-OIR. Here we report the 1.95 A resolution crystal structure of the Sir3p-BAH domain. The structure reveals two key features that can account for Sir3p-BAH domain's inability to interact with Sir1p. First, several Orc1p-BAH domain residues known to directly contact Sir1p are altered in the Sir3p-BAH domain. Second, a critical OIR-binding pocket present on the surface of the Orc1p-BAH domain is "filled" in the Sir3p-BAH domain structure, potentially making it inaccessible to Sir1p. These findings imply that the Sir3p-BAH domain structure has evolved for functions distinct from those of the Orc1p-BAH domain.

Amino Acid Sequence↗