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DNA replication origins in the Schizosaccharomyces pombe genome.

Origins of DNA replication in Schizosaccharomyces pombe lack a specific consensus sequence analogous to the Saccharomyces cerevisiae autonomously replicating sequence (ARS) consensus, raising the question of how they are recognized by the replication machinery. Because all well characterized S. pombe origins are located in intergenic regions, we analyzed the sequence properties and biological activity of such regions. The AT content of intergenes is very high ( approximately 70%), and runs of A's or T's occur with a significantly greater frequency than expected. Additionally, the two DNA strands in intergenes display compositional asymmetry that strongly correlates with the direction of transcription of flanking genes. Importantly, the sequence properties of known S. pombe origins of DNA replication are similar to those of intergenes in general. In functional studies, we assayed the in vivo origin activity of 26 intergenes in a 68-kb region of S. pombe chromosome 2. We also assayed the origin activity of sets of randomly chosen intergenes with the same length or AT content. Our data demonstrate that at least half of intergenes have potential origin activity and that the relative ability of an intergene to function as an origin is governed primarily by AT content and length. We propose a stochastic model for initiation of DNA replication in the fission yeast. In this model, the number of AT tracts in a given sequence is the major determinant of its probability of binding SpORC and serving as a replication origin. A similar model may explain some features of origins of DNA replication in metazoans.

Base Composition↗

Sequence from early region of polyoma virus DNA containing viral replication origin and encoding small, middle and (part of) large T antigens.

The sequence of about one third of the polyoma virus genome is presented. This sequence covers the origin of replication of two large plaque strains (A2 and A3) of polyoma virus. The two strains differ by 11 bp in the origin region. A model for replication is suggested. The sequence probably also covers the entire coding region of two of the polyoma virus early proteins--small and middle T antigens--as well as part of the coding region for large T antigen. Over a small region of the DNA, all three coding frames contain termination codons, which argues a need for spliced early messenger RNAs. In another region of the DNA, two coding frames can be used. Correlation with protein data suggests that one frame codes for part of middle T antigen and the other for part of large T antigen.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Replication origins: why do we need so many?

During the G1 phase of the cell cycle, replication origins are prepared to fire, a process that is referred to as origin licensing. It was often pondered what a cell's fate would be if not all of its replication origins were licensed and subsequently activated during S phase. One obvious prediction was that S phase would simply be prolonged. As it turns out, however, the consequences are much more complex. A short G1 phase enforced by premature entry into S phase, or other events that negatively affect origin licensing, will ultimately compromise the cell's ability to complete DNA replication before entering mitosis. As a result, the cell becomes genomically unstable when it attempts to repair unreplicated DNA during anaphase. Thus, the density of active replication origins in the chromosomes of eukaryotic cells determines S phase dynamics and chromosome stability during mitosis.

Animals↗

HU protein binding to the replication origin of the rolling-circle plasmid pKYM enhances DNA replication.

The RepK protein, which is encoded by the rolling-circle plasmid pKYM, binds to the PR I site in the pKYM DNA replication origin. We have identified HU as a protein that binds to the PR II and PR III sites in the replication-enhancing region which is downstream of PR I. DNA footprinting assays show that HU binds to these two sites only when RepK is bound to PR I, and that HU also enhances the binding of RepK to PR I. In vivo, pKYM was unable to transform an HU null strain. Two mutant RepK proteins, RepKW179Y, which contains a Trp-to-Tyr exchange at position 179, and RepKD277L, which contains an Asp-to-Leu mutation at residue 277, initiate DNA replication in vivo in the absence of HU. In vitro, these mutant RepK proteins form more stable complexes with the pKYM origin region than does the wild-type RepK protein. These results indicate that HU plays a role in the formation of a stable RepK-origin complex, which is required for the initiation of pKYM DNA replication.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Mapping replication origins in yeast chromosomes.

The replicon hypothesis, first proposed in 1963 by Jacob and Brenner, states that DNA replication is controlled at sites called origins. Replication origins have been well studied in prokaryotes. However, the study of eukaryotic chromosomal origins has lagged behind, because until recently there has been no method for reliably determining the identity and location of origins from eukaryotic chromosomes. Here, we review a technique we developed with the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae that allows both the mapping of replication origins and an assessment of their activity. Two-dimensional agarose gel electrophoresis and Southern hybridization with total genomic DNA are used to determine whether a particular restriction fragment acquires the branched structure diagnostic of replication initiation. The technique has been used to localize origins in yeast chromosomes and assess their initiation efficiency. In some cases, origin activation is dependent upon the surrounding context. The technique is also being applied to a variety of eukaryotic organisms.

Blotting, Southern↗

Roles for internal and flanking sequences in regulating the activity of mating-type-silencer-associated replication origins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

ARS301 and ARS302 are inactive replication origins located at the left end of budding yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) chromosome III, where they are associated with the HML-E and -I silencers of the HML mating type cassette. Although they function as replication origins in plasmids, they do not serve as origins in their normal chromosomal locations, because they are programmed to fire so late in S phase that they are passively replicated by the replication fork from neighboring early-firing ARS305 before they have a chance to fire on their own. We asked whether the nucleotide sequences required for plasmid origin function of these silencer-associated chromosomally inactive origins differ from the sequences needed for plasmid origin function by nonsilencer-associated chromosomally active origins. We could not detect consistent differences in sequence requirements for the two types of origins. Next, we asked whether sequences within or flanking these origins are responsible for their chromosomal inactivity. Our results demonstrate that both flanking and internal sequences contribute to chromosomal inactivity, presumably by programming these origins to fire late in S phase. In ARS301, the function of the internal sequences determining chromosomal inactivity is dependent on the checkpoint proteins Mec1p and Rad53p.

Cell Cycle Proteins↗

Territorial limits and functional anatomy of the simian virus 40 replication origin.

The region at and near the simian virus 40 (SV40) DNA replication origin contains a series of palindromes, a 17-base pair (bp) A + T-rich sequence, three copies of a 21-bp repeat, and two copies of a 72-bp repeat. We have constructed a series of recombinant plasmids containing sequential deletions at the region of SV40 DNA replication origin starting from the end near the repeats. These deletions were introduced by using in vitro and in vivo techniques. The relative replication efficiency of these recombinant plasmids were directly assayed in COS-1 monkey kidney cells capable of providing the tumor antigen necessary for the replication of these molecules. Recombinants lacking both copies of the 72-bp repeat did not exhibit any reduction in replication efficiency. Recombinants lacking the 21-bp repeats showed decreased replication efficiency; the reduction in replication efficiency was proportional to the number of copies of the 21-bp repeat deleted in these recombinants. A recombinant retaining the palindromes at the region of SV40 DNA replication but lacking the A + T-rich sequence and the repeats failed to replicate. Based on these results, the SV40 DNA replication origin is subdivided into two regions, and their boundaries are defined. One of these two regions is a core region containing the 17-bp, 15-bp, and 27-bp palindromes and, quite likely, the 17-bp A + T-rich sequence which are necessary for replication. The other is an auxiliary region that consists of the 21-bp repeats and has a dose-dependent enhancement effect on replication efficiency.

Animals↗

Susceptibility to superhelically driven DNA duplex destabilization: a highly conserved property of yeast replication origins.

Strand separation is obligatory for several DNA functions, including replication. However, local DNA properties such as A+T content or thermodynamic stability alone do not determine the susceptibility to this transition in vivo. Rather, superhelical stresses provide long-range coupling among the transition behaviors of all base pairs within a topologically constrained domain. We have developed methods to analyze superhelically induced duplex destabilization (SIDD) in genomic DNA that take into account both this long-range stress-induced coupling and sequence-dependent local thermodynamic stability. Here we apply this approach to examine the SIDD properties of 39 experimentally well-characterized autonomously replicating DNA sequences (ARS elements), which function as replication origins in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We find that these ARS elements have a strikingly increased susceptibility to SIDD relative to their surrounding sequences. On average, these ARS elements require 4.78 kcal/mol less free energy to separate than do their immediately surrounding sequences, making them more than 2,000 times easier to open. Statistical analysis shows that the probability of this strong an association between SIDD sites and ARS elements arising by chance is approximately 4 x 10(-10). This local enhancement of the propensity to separate to single strands under superhelical stress has obvious implications for origin function. SIDD properties also could be used, in conjunction with other known origin attributes, to identify putative replication origins in yeast, and possibly in other metazoan genomes.

Journal Article↗

CDC16 controls initiation at chromosome replication origins.

The Cdc28p cyclin-dependent kinase is thought to both catalyze the onset of DNA replication and prevent rereplication by blocking the reassembly of initiation complexes at replication origins. Budding yeast with mutations in the CDC16 gene represent an exception to this model, because they rereplicate DNA despite being in a G2-like arrest with continually elevated Cdc28p kinase activity. We show, in contradiction to Pichler et al. (1997), that the extra DNA that accumulates in cdc16 mutants is largely chromosomal, as we originally reported. Two-dimensional DNA electrophoresis shows that cdc16 mutants reinitiate DNA synthesis from normal chromosome replication origins, and density transfer experiments show that multiple chromosomal locations are affected. Rereplication from origins requires both Cdc6p and Cdc46/Mcm5p, initiation proteins that had been thought to be inactivated by the Cdc28p kinase. These results establish that CDC16 is required to prevent inappropriate firing of replication origins.

Apc6 Subunit, Anaphase-Promoting Complex-Cyclosome↗

Mutational analysis of the simian virus 40 replicon: pseudorevertants of mutants with a defective replication origin.

The circular genome of simian virus 40 is a model mammalian replicon, containing a unique origin of replication (ori) and coding for a protein (SV40 T antigen) known to be involved in initiation of viral DNA replication and to bind in vitro to the origin region. Mutations within the ori sequence lead to defective viral DNA replication and the formation of small viral plaques after infection of a cell monolayer. Second-site revertants (pseudorevertants) of ori mutants were isolated by random local mutagenesis of mutant DNA followed by transfection of cultured cells and the selection of large plaques. In each case, reversion of the plaque phenotype was associated with an increased rate of viral DNA replication. The second-site mutations that suppressed the replication defects were localized by in vitro recombination or marker rescue experiments to the gene for T antigen. Their map positions differ from those of previously described T antigen mutants, possibly reflecting a specific ori-binding domain of T antigen. From these results we infer that T antigen interacts with the ori signal during virus development as it does in vitro and that this interaction regulates the rate of viral DNA replication.

Antigens, Neoplasm↗

Assembly of a complex containing Cdc45p, replication protein A, and Mcm2p at replication origins controlled by S-phase cyclin-dependent kinases and Cdc7p-Dbf4p kinase.

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, replication origins are activated with characteristic timing during S phase. S-phase cyclin-dependent kinases (S-CDKs) and Cdc7p-Dbf4p kinase are required for origin activation throughout S phase. The activation of S-CDKs leads to association of Cdc45p with chromatin, raising the possibility that Cdc45p defines the assembly of a new complex at each origin. Here we show that both Cdc45p and replication protein A (RPA) bind to Mcm2p at the G(1)-S transition in an S-CDK-dependent manner. During S phase, Cdc45p associates with different replication origins at specific times. The origin associations of Cdc45p and RPA are mutually dependent, and both S-CDKs and Cdc7p-Dbf4p are required for efficient binding of Cdc45p to origins. These findings suggest that S-CDKs and Cdc7p-Dbf4p promote loading of Cdc45p and RPA onto a preformed prereplication complex at each origin with preprogrammed timing. The ARS1 association of Mcm2p, but not that of the origin recognition complex, is diminished by disruption of the B2 element of ARS1, a potential origin DNA-unwinding element. Cdc45p is required for recruiting DNA polymerase alpha onto chromatin, and it associates with Mcm2p, RPA, and DNA polymerase epsilon only during S phase. These results suggest that the complex containing Cdc45p, RPA, and MCMs is involved in origin unwinding and assembly of replication forks at each origin.

Carrier Proteins↗

Bacteriophage T4 proteins replicate plasmids with a preformed R loop at the T4 ori(uvsY) replication origin in vitro.

Bacteriophage T4 DNA replication proteins catalyze complete unidirectional replication of plasmids containing the T4 ori(uvsY) replication origin in vitro, beginning with a preformed R loop at the position of the origin R loop previously identified in vivo. T4 DNA polymerase, clamp, clamp loader, and 32 protein are needed for initial elongation of the RNA, which serves as the leading-strand primer. Normal replication is dependent on T4 41 helicase and 61 primase and is strongly stimulated by the 59 helicase loading protein. 59 protein slows replication without the helicase. As expected, leading-strand synthesis stalls prematurely in the absence of T4 DNA topoisomerase. A DNA unwinding element (DUE) is essential for replication, but the ori(uvsY) DUE can be replaced by other DUE sequences.

Bacteriophage T4↗

A 189-bp repeat region within the human cytomegalovirus replication origin contains a sequence dispensable but irreplaceable with other sequences.

The human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) replication origin exhibits a strain-dependent difference in the number of copies of a 189-bp region: the AD169 and Towne strains contain one and three copies of the region, respectively. A nearly complete deletion of the 189-bp repeat region of the Towne strain does not eliminate the origin's ability to initiate DNA synthesis. Here we report that the replication ability of the HCMV replication origin in infected cells disappeared after replacements of an internal sequence (152 bp) of the 189-bp repeat region with lambda DNA of identical and different lengths as well as after introduction of multiple nucleotide substitutions within the 152-bp internal sequence of the 189-bp repeat. In contrast, a variation in the copy number of 189-bp region (either one or two copies) or an inversion of the 152-bp internal sequence of the 189-bp repeat maintained replication abilities similar to those of the wild-type origin of the Towne strain. These results indicate that the 189-bp repeat region within the HCMV replication origin is not just a dispensable spacer sequence but instead contains an irreplaceable sequence that may play a supporting role in HCMV DNA replication.

Amino Acid Substitution↗

Functional division and reconstruction of a plasmid replication origin: molecular dissection of the oriV of the broad-host-range plasmid RSF1010.

Two single-stranded DNA initiation signals (designated ssi) present in the origin of vegetative DNA replication (oriV) of the broad-host-range plasmid RSF1010 are essential for the priming of replication of each complementary DNA strand of this plasmid in Escherichia coli. Each of the RSF1010 ssi signals, ssiA and ssiB, could be replaced by a primosome assembly site from plasmid pACY184 or from bacteriophage phi X174. In these chimeric origins, replication of the strand complementary to that containing the primosome assembly site was no longer dependent on the RSF1010 primase, protein RepB', but required the E. coli primase, DnaG. If both ssiA and ssiB sites of RSF1010 were replaced by primosome assembly sites, protein RepB' was no longer essential for the replication at this origin, whereas proteins RepA and RepC of RSF1010 were still required. These results strongly suggest that the two ssi sites and the RepB' protein actually direct the priming of DNA synthesis in the replication of RSF1010, and the proteins RepA and RepC are involved in the prepriming events--i.e., the opening of the DNA duplex at oriV. It is evident that the origin of RSF1010 can be separated into three functional domains and reconstructed by replacing the ssi sites with heterologous elements.

Base Sequence↗

Transcription factors and DNA replication origin selection.

The chromosomes of eukaryotic cells possess many potential DNA replication origins, of which a subset is selected in response to the cellular environment, such as the developmental stage, to act as active replication start sites. The mechanism of origin selection is not yet fully understood. In this review, we summarize recent observations regarding replication origins and initiator proteins in various organisms. These studies suggest that the DNA-binding specificities of the initiator proteins that bind to the replication origins and promote DNA replication are primarily responsible for origin selection. We particularly focus on the importance of transcription factors in the origin selection process. We propose that transcription factors are general regulators of the formation of functional complexes on the chromosome, including the replication initiation complex. We discuss the possible mechanisms by which transcription factors influence the selection of particular origins.

Animals↗

The nucleotide sequence of the region surrounding the replication origin of an R100 resistance factor derivative.

The replication origin of a group of small plasmids derived from R100 was previously determined by electron microscopy (Ohtsubo et al., 1977). This region was subjected to extensive restriction enzyme analysis and the nucleotide sequence of the region containing the replication origin was determined using the Maxam and Gilbert sequencing technique. Various characteristics of this sequence, including a very interesting secondary structure are described and discussed.

Base Sequence↗

Four-dimensional visualization of the simultaneous activity of alternative adeno-associated virus replication origins.

The adeno-associated virus (AAV) inverted terminal repeats (ITRs) contain the AAV Rep protein-binding site (RBS) and the terminal resolution site (TRS), which together act as a minimal origin of DNA replication. The AAV p5 promoter also contains an RBS, which is involved in Rep-mediated regulation of promoter activity, as well as a functional TRS, and origin activity of these signals has in fact been demonstrated previously in the presence of adenovirus helper functions. Here, we show that in the presence of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and AAV Rep protein, p5 promoter-bearing plasmids are efficiently amplified to form large head-to-tail concatemers, which are readily packaged in HSV-1 virions if an HSV-1 DNA-packaging/cleavage signal is provided in cis. We also demonstrate simultaneous and independent replication from the two alternative AAV replication origins, p5 and ITR, on the single-cell level using multicolor-fluorescence live imaging, a finding which raises the possibility that both origins may contribute to the AAV life cycle. Furthermore, we assess the differential affinities of Rep for the two different replication origins, p5 and ITR, both in vitro and in live cells and identify this as a potential mechanism to control the replicative and promoter activities of p5.

Animals↗

Multiple replication origins of the archaeon Halobacterium species NRC-1.

The genomic sequence of the halophilic archaeon Halobacterium NRC-1 has been analyzed by the Z curve method. The Z curve is a three-dimensional curve that uniquely represents a given DNA sequence. Based on the known behaviors of the Z curves for the archaea whose replication origins have been identified, the analysis of the Z curve for the genome of Halobacterium NRC-1 strongly suggests that the large genome has two replication origins, oriC1 (921,863-922,014) and oriC2 (1,806,444-1,807,229), which are located at two sharp peaks of the Z curve. These two regions are next to the cdc6 genes and contain multiple copies of stretches of G and C, i.e., ggggtgggg and ccccacccc, which may also be regarded as direct and inverted repeats. Based on the above analysis, a model of replication of Halobacterium NRC-1 with two replication origins and two termini has been proposed. The experimental confirmation of this model would constitute the first example of multiple replication origins of archaea, which will finally provide much insight into the understanding of replication mechanisms of eukaryotic organisms, including human. In addition, the potential multiple replication origins of the archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus are suggested by the analysis based on the Z curve method.

Base Sequence↗