Project description:Here we report the first characterization of replication timing and its regulation in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. We used three different synchronization methods: centrifugal elutriation, cdc10 temperature-shift and release, and starvation for deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates (dNTPs) by treatment with hydroxyurea (HU) followed by removal of HU, to study the times when specific autonomously replicating sequence elements (ARS elements; potential replication origins) replicate during S phase. We found that individual ARS elements replicate at characteristic times, some early and some late, independently of synchronization method. In wild-type cells treated with HU, early ARS elements replicated but late ones did not. However, in HU-treated mutant cells lacking the Rad3 (similar to human ATR and ATM) or Cds1 (similar to human CHK2) checkpoint kinase, both early and late ARS elements were able to replicate. Thus under conditions of dNTP starvation the Rad3 and Cds1 kinases are needed to suppress the replication of normally late-replicating regions.
Project description:ObjectiveThe objective of the research presented here was to determine whether autonomous replication sequences (ARS) discovered in the eccDNA replicon of glyphosate resistant Amaranthus palmeri enable self-replication in a yeast system.ResultsSequence analysis of the eccDNA replicon revealed a region of sharp changes in A + T/G + C content with characteristic bending indicative of an autonomous replication sequence. Further sequence analysis revealed an extended autonomous replication sequence (EACS) in close proximity to multiple DNA unwinding element (DUE) sequences. This region of the eccDNA replicon enabled autonomous replication of an ARS-less yeast plasmid.
Project description:BackgroundDNA replication begins at specific locations called replication origins, where helicase and polymerase act in concert to unwind and process the single DNA filaments. The sites of active DNA synthesis are called replication forks. The density of initiation events is low when replication forks travel fast, and is high when forks travel slowly. Despite the potential involvement of epigenetic factors, transcriptional regulation and nucleotide availability, the causes of differences in replication times during DNA synthesis have not been established satisfactorily, yet.Methodology/principal findingsHere, we aimed at quantifying to which extent sequence properties contribute to the DNA replication time in budding yeast. We interpreted the movement of the replication machinery along the DNA template as a directed random walk, decomposing influences on DNA replication time into sequence-specific and sequence-independent components. We found that for a large part of the genome the elongation time can be well described by a global average replication rate, thus by a single parameter. However, we also showed that there are regions within the genomic landscape of budding yeast with highly specific replication rates, which cannot be explained by global properties of the replication machinery.Conclusion/significanceComputational models of DNA replication in budding yeast that can predict replication dynamics have rarely been developed yet. We show here that even beyond the level of initiation there are effects governing the replication time that can not be explained by the movement of the polymerase along the DNA template alone. This allows us to characterize genomic regions with significantly altered elongation characteristics, independent of initiation times or sequence composition.
Project description:DNA replication initiates at discrete origins along eukaryotic chromosomes. However, in most organisms, origin firing is not efficient; a specific origin will fire in some but not all cell cycles. This observation raises the question of how individual origins are selected to fire and whether origin firing is globally coordinated to ensure an even distribution of replication initiation across the genome. We have addressed these questions by determining the location of firing origins on individual fission yeast DNA molecules using DNA combing. We show that the firing of replication origins is stochastic, leading to a random distribution of replication initiation. Furthermore, origin firing is independent between cell cycles; there is no epigenetic mechanism causing an origin that fires in one cell cycle to preferentially fire in the next. Thus, the fission yeast strategy for the initiation of replication is different from models of eukaryotic replication that propose coordinated origin firing.
Project description:Replication origins in eukaryotes form a base for assembly of the pre-replication complex (pre-RC), thereby serving as an initiation site of DNA replication. Characteristics of replication origin vary among species. In fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, DNA of high AT content is a distinct feature of replication origins; however, it remains to be understood what the general molecular architecture of fission yeast origin is. Here, we performed ChIP-seq mapping of Orc4 and Mcm2, two representative components of the pre-RC, and described the characteristics of their binding sites. The analysis revealed that fission yeast efficient origins are associated with two similar but independent features: a ≥15 bp-long motif with stretches of As and an AT-rich region of a few hundred bp. The A-rich motif was correlated with chromosomal binding of Orc, a DNA-binding component in the pre-RC, whereas the AT-rich region was associated with efficient binding of the DNA replicative helicase Mcm. These two features, in combination with the third feature, a transcription-poor region of approximately 1 kb, enabled to distinguish efficient replication origins from the rest of chromosome arms with high accuracy. This study, hence, provides a model that describes how multiple functional elements specify DNA replication origins in fission yeast genome.
Project description:Despite its evolutionarily conserved function in controlling DNA replication, the chromosomal binding sites of the budding yeast Rif1 protein are not well understood. Here, we analyse genome-wide binding of budding yeast Rif1 by chromatin immunoprecipitation, during G1 phase and in S phase with replication progressing normally or blocked by hydroxyurea. Rif1 associates strongly with telomeres through interaction with Rap1. By comparing genomic binding of wild-type Rif1 and truncated Rif1 lacking the Rap1-interaction domain, we identify hundreds of Rap1-dependent and Rap1-independent chromosome interaction sites. Rif1 binds to centromeres, highly transcribed genes and replication origins in a Rap1-independent manner, associating with both early and late-initiating origins. Interestingly, Rif1 also binds around activated origins when replication progression is blocked by hydroxyurea, suggesting association with blocked forks. Using nascent DNA labelling and DNA combing techniques, we find that in cells treated with hydroxyurea, yeast Rif1 stabilises recently synthesised DNA Our results indicate that, in addition to controlling DNA replication initiation, budding yeast Rif1 plays an ongoing role after initiation and controls events at blocked replication forks.
Project description:To ensure equal replication of the genome in every eukaryotic cell cycle, replication origins fire only once each S phase and do not fire after passive replication. Failure in these controls can lead to local amplification, contributing to genome instability and the development of cancer. To identify features of replication origins important for such amplification, we have investigated origin firing and local genome amplification in the presence of excess helicase loaders Cdc18 and Cdt1 in fission yeast. We find that S phase controls are attenuated and coordination of origin firing is lost, resulting in local amplification. Specific origins are necessary for amplification but act only within a permissive chromosomal context. Origins associated with amplification are highly AT-rich, fire efficiently and early during mitotic S phase, and are located in large intergenic regions. We propose that these features predispose replication origins to re-fire within a single S phase, or to remain active after passive replication.
Project description:Eukaryotic DNA replication is initiated from multiple origins of replication, but little is known about the global regulation of origins throughout the genome or in different types of cell cycles. Here, we identify 401 strong origins and 503 putative weaker origins spaced in total every 14 kb throughout the genome of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. The same origins are used during premeiotic and mitotic S-phases. We found that few origins fire late in mitotic S-phase and that activating the Rad3 dependent S-phase checkpoint by inhibiting DNA replication had little effect on which origins were fired. A genome-wide analysis of eukaryotic origin efficiencies showed that efficiency was variable, with large chromosomal domains enriched for efficient or inefficient origins. Average efficiency is twice as high during mitosis compared with meiosis, which can account for their different S-phase lengths. We conclude that there is a continuum of origin efficiency and that there is differential origin activity in the mitotic and meiotic cell cycles.
Project description:The separation of DNA replication origin licensing and activation in the cell cycle is essential for genome stability across generations in eukaryotic cells. Pre-replicative complexes (pre-RCs) license origins by loading Mcm2-7 complexes in inactive form around DNA. During origin firing in S phase, replisomes assemble around the activated Mcm2-7 DNA helicase. Budding yeast pre-RCs have previously been reconstituted in vitro with purified proteins. Here, we show that reconstituted pre-RCs support replication of plasmid DNA in yeast cell extracts in a reaction that exhibits hallmarks of cellular replication initiation. Plasmid replication in vitro results in the generation of covalently closed circular daughter molecules, indicating that the system recapitulates the initiation, elongation, and termination stages of DNA replication. Unexpectedly, yeast origin DNA is not strictly required for DNA replication in vitro, as heterologous DNA sequences could support replication of plasmid molecules. Our findings support the notion that epigenetic mechanisms are important for determining replication origin sites in budding yeast, highlighting mechanistic principles of replication origin specification that are common among eukaryotes.
Project description:DNA replication origins are licensed in early G(1) phase of the cell cycle where the origin recognition complex (ORC) recruits the minichromosome maintenance (MCM) helicase to origins. These pre-replicative complexes (pre-RCs) remain inactive until replication is initiated in the S phase. However, transcriptional activity in the regions of origins can eliminate their functionality by displacing the components of pre-RC from DNA. We analyzed genome-wide data of mRNA and cryptic unstable transcripts in the context of locations of replication origins in yeast genome and found that at least one-third of the origins are transcribed and therefore might be inactivated by transcription. When investigating the fate of transcriptionally inactivated origins, we found that replication origins were repetitively licensed in G(1) to reestablish their functionality after transcription. We propose that reloading of pre-RC components in G(1) might be utilized for the maintenance of sufficient number of competent origins for efficient initiation of DNA replication in S phase.