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The Human Pre-replication Complex is an Open Complex

ABSTRACT: In eukaryotes, DNA replication initiation requires assembly and activation of the minichromosome maintenance (MCM) 2-7 double hexamer (DH) to melt origin DNA strands. However, the mechanism for this initial melting is unknown. Here, we report a 2.59-Å cryo-electron microscopy structure of the endogenously purified human MCM-DH (hMCM-DH), also known as the pre-replication complex. In this structure, the hMCM-DH shows a constricted central channel with a diameter of only 13 Å at the hexamer interface. This unusual conformation untwists and stretches the DNA strands such that almost a half turn of the bound duplex DNA is distorted with one-base pair completely separated, generating an initial open structure (IOS) at the hexamer junction. This IOS is captured and stabilized by zinc fingers (ZFs) of MCM2 and MCM5 from opposing hexamers. Disturbing the interaction between MCM5-ZF and the IOS demonstrably inhibits DH formation and replication initiation. High-resolution mapping of hMCM-DH footprints indicates that IOSs are distributed across the human genome in large clusters aligning perfectly with initiation zones to safeguard robust stochastic origin firing. This work unravels an intrinsic mechanism that couples DH formation with initial DNA melting to license replication initiation in human cells.

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

PROVIDER: GSE202066 | GEO | 2022/12/31

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:There are approximately 500 known origins of replication in the yeast genome, and the process by which DNA replication initiates at these locations is well understood. In particular, these sites are made competent to initiate replication by loading of the Mcm replicative helicase prior to the start of S phase; thus, "a site to which MCM is bound in G1" might be considered to provide an operational definition of a replication origin. By fusing a subunit of Mcm to micrococcal nuclease, a technique referred to as "Chromatin Endogenous Cleavage", we previously showed that known origins are typically bound by a single Mcm double hexamer, loaded adjacent to the ARS consensus sequence (ACS). Here we extend this analysis from known origins to the entire genome, identifying candidate Mcm binding sites whose signal intensity varies over at least 3 orders of magnitude. Published data quantifying the production of ssDNA during S phase showed clear evidence of replication initiation among the most abundant 1600 of these sites, with replication activity decreasing in concert with Mcm abundance and disappearing at the limit of detection of ssDNA. Three other hallmarks of replication origins were apparent among the most abundant 5,500 sites. Specifically, these sites (1) appeared in intergenic nucleosome-free regions that were flanked on one or both sides by well-positioned nucleosomes; (2) were flanked by ACSs; and (3) exhibited a pattern of GC skew characteristic of replication initiation. Furthermore, the high resolution of this technique allowed us to demonstrate a strong bias for detecting Mcm double-hexamers downstream rather than upstream of the ACS, which is consistent with the directionality of Mcm loading by Orc that has been observed in vitro. We conclude that DNA replication origins are at least 3-fold more abundant than previously assumed, and we suggest that replication may occasionally initiate in essentially every intergenic region. These results shed light on recent reports that as many as 15% of replication events initiate outside of known origins, and this broader distribution of replication origins suggest that S phase in yeast may be less distinct from that in humans than is widely assumed.

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The Human Pre-replication Complex is an Open Complex

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