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Project description:The licensing of eukaryotic DNA replication origins, which ensures once-per-cell-cycle replication, involves the loading of six related minichromosome maintenance proteins (Mcm2-7) into prereplicative complexes (pre-RCs). Mcm2-7 forms the core of the replicative DNA helicase, which is inactive in the pre-RC. The loading of Mcm2-7 onto DNA requires the origin recognition complex (ORC), Cdc6, and Cdt1, and depends on ATP. We have reconstituted Mcm2-7 loading with purified budding yeast proteins. Using biochemical approaches and electron microscopy, we show that single heptamers of Cdt1*Mcm2-7 are loaded cooperatively and result in association of stable, head-to-head Mcm2-7 double hexamers connected via their N-terminal rings. DNA runs through a central channel in the double hexamer, and, once loaded, Mcm2-7 can slide passively along double-stranded DNA. Our work has significant implications for understanding how eukaryotic DNA replication origins are chosen and licensed, how replisomes assemble during initiation, and how unwinding occurs during DNA replication.
| S-EPMC2804858 | biostudies-literature
Project description:To initiate DNA replication, the origin recognition complex (ORC) and Cdc6 load an Mcm2-7 double hexamer onto DNA. Without ATP hydrolysis, ORC-Cdc6 recruits one Cdt1-bound Mcm2-7 hexamer, thus forming an ORC-Cdc6-Cdt1-Mcm2-7 (OCCM) helicase-loading intermediate. Here we report a 3.9-Å structure of Saccharomyces cerevisiae OCCM on DNA. Flexible Mcm2-7 winged-helix domains (WHDs) engage ORC-Cdc6. A three-domain Cdt1 configuration embraces Mcm2, Mcm4, and Mcm6, thus comprising nearly half of the hexamer. The Cdt1 C-terminal domain extends to the Mcm6 WHD, which binds the Orc4 WHD. DNA passes through the ORC-Cdc6 and Mcm2-7 rings. Origin DNA interaction is mediated by an α-helix within Orc4 and positively charged loops within Orc2 and Cdc6. The Mcm2-7 C-tier AAA+ ring is topologically closed by an Mcm5 loop that embraces Mcm2, but the N-tier-ring Mcm2-Mcm5 interface remains open. This structure suggests a loading mechanism of the first Cdt1-bound Mcm2-7 hexamer by ORC-Cdc6.
| S-EPMC5503505 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The opening and closing of two ring-shaped Mcm2-7 DNA helicases is necessary to license eukaryotic origins of replication, although the mechanisms controlling these events are unclear. The origin-recognition complex (ORC), Cdc6 and Cdt1 facilitate this process by establishing a topological link between each Mcm2-7 hexamer and origin DNA. Using colocalization single-molecule spectroscopy and single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET), we monitored ring opening and closing of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Mcm2-7 during origin licensing. The two Mcm2-7 rings were open during initial DNA association and closed sequentially, concomitant with the release of their associated Cdt1. We observed that ATP hydrolysis by Mcm2-7 was coupled to ring closure and Cdt1 release, and failure to load the first Mcm2-7 prevented recruitment of the second Mcm2-7. Our findings identify key mechanisms controlling the Mcm2-7 DNA-entry gate during origin licensing, and reveal that the two Mcm2-7 complexes are loaded via a coordinated series of events with implications for bidirectional replication initiation and quality control.
| S-EPMC5336523 | biostudies-literature
Project description:In eukaryotes, the Cdt1-bound replicative helicase core MCM2-7 is loaded onto DNA by the ORC-Cdc6 ATPase to form a prereplicative complex (pre-RC) with an MCM2-7 double hexamer encircling DNA. Using purified components in the presence of ATP-?S, we have captured in vitro an intermediate in pre-RC assembly that contains a complex between the ORC-Cdc6 and Cdt1-MCM2-7 heteroheptamers called the OCCM. Cryo-EM studies of this 14-subunit complex reveal that the two separate heptameric complexes are engaged extensively, with the ORC-Cdc6 N-terminal AAA+ domains latching onto the C-terminal AAA+ motor domains of the MCM2-7 hexamer. The conformation of ORC-Cdc6 undergoes a concerted change into a right-handed spiral with helical symmetry that is identical to that of the DNA double helix. The resulting ORC-Cdc6 helicase loader shows a notable structural similarity to the replication factor C clamp loader, suggesting a conserved mechanism of action.
| S-EPMC3735830 | biostudies-literature
Project description:DNA replication origins serve as sites of replicative helicase loading. In all eukaryotes, the six-subunit origin recognition complex (Orc1-6; ORC) recognizes the replication origin. During late M-phase of the cell-cycle, Cdc6 binds to ORC and the ORC-Cdc6 complex loads in a multistep reaction and, with the help of Cdt1, the core Mcm2-7 helicase onto DNA. A key intermediate is the ORC-Cdc6-Cdt1-Mcm2-7 (OCCM) complex in which DNA has been already inserted into the central channel of Mcm2-7. Until now, it has been unclear how the origin DNA is guided by ORC-Cdc6 and inserted into the Mcm2-7 hexamer. Here, we truncated the C-terminal winged-helix-domain (WHD) of Mcm6 to slow down the loading reaction, thereby capturing two loading intermediates prior to DNA insertion in budding yeast. In "semi-attached OCCM," the Mcm3 and Mcm7 WHDs latch onto ORC-Cdc6 while the main body of the Mcm2-7 hexamer is not connected. In "pre-insertion OCCM," the main body of Mcm2-7 docks onto ORC-Cdc6, and the origin DNA is bent and positioned adjacent to the open DNA entry gate, poised for insertion, at the Mcm2-Mcm5 interface. We used molecular simulations to reveal the dynamic transition from preloading conformers to the loaded conformers in which the loading of Mcm2-7 on DNA is complete and the DNA entry gate is fully closed. Our work provides multiple molecular insights into a key event of eukaryotic DNA replication.
| S-EPMC7395460 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The replicative mini-chromosome-maintenance 2-7 (MCM2-7) helicase is loaded in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and other eukaryotes as a head-to-head double-hexamer around origin DNA. At first, ORC/Cdc6 recruits with the help of Cdt1 a single MCM2-7 hexamer to form an 'initial' ORC/Cdc6/Cdt1/MCM2-7 complex. Then, on ATP hydrolysis and Cdt1 release, the 'initial' complex is transformed into an ORC/Cdc6/MCM2-7 (OCM) complex. However, it remains unclear how the OCM is subsequently converted into a MCM2-7 double-hexamer. Through analysis of MCM2-7 hexamer-interface mutants we discovered a complex competent for MCM2-7 dimerization. We demonstrate that these MCM2-7 mutants arrest during prereplicative complex (pre-RC) assembly after OCM formation, but before MCM2-7 double-hexamer assembly. Remarkably, only the OCM complex, but not the 'initial' ORC/Cdc6/Cdt1/MCM2-7 complex, is competent for MCM2-7 dimerization. The MCM2-7 dimer, in contrast to the MCM2-7 double-hexamer, interacts with ORC/Cdc6 and is salt-sensitive, classifying the arrested complex as a helicase-loading intermediate. Accordingly, we found that overexpression of the mutants cause cell-cycle arrest and dominant lethality. Our work identifies the OCM complex as competent for MCM2-7 dimerization, reveals MCM2-7 dimerization as a limiting step during pre-RC formation and defines critical mechanisms that explain how origins are licensed.
| S-EPMC3936773 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Loading of the ring-shaped Mcm2-7 replicative helicase around DNA licenses eukaryotic origins of replication. During loading, Cdc6, Cdt1, and the origin-recognition complex (ORC) assemble two heterohexameric Mcm2-7 complexes into a head-to-head double hexamer that facilitates bidirectional replication initiation. Using multi-wavelength single-molecule fluorescence to monitor the events of helicase loading, we demonstrate that double-hexamer formation is the result of sequential loading of individual Mcm2-7 complexes. Loading of each Mcm2-7 molecule involves the ordered association and dissociation of distinct Cdc6 and Cdt1 proteins. In contrast, one ORC molecule directs loading of both helicases in each double hexamer. Based on single-molecule FRET, arrival of the second Mcm2-7 results in rapid double-hexamer formation that anticipates Cdc6 and Cdt1 release, suggesting that Mcm-Mcm interactions recruit the second helicase. Our findings reveal the complex protein dynamics that coordinate helicase loading and indicate that distinct mechanisms load the oppositely oriented helicases that are central to bidirectional replication initiation.
| S-EPMC4445235 | biostudies-literature
Project description:During pre-replication complex (pre-RC) formation, origin recognition complex (ORC), Cdc6, and Cdt1 cooperatively load the 6-subunit mini chromosome maintenance (MCM2-7) complex onto DNA. Loading of MCM2-7 is a prerequisite for DNA licensing that restricts DNA replication to once per cell cycle. During S phase MCM2-7 functions as part of the replicative helicase but within the pre-RC MCM2-7 is inactive. The organization of replicative DNA helicases before and after loading onto DNA has been studied in bacteria and viruses but not eukaryotes and is of major importance for understanding the MCM2-7 loading mechanism and replisome assembly. Lack of an efficient reconstituted pre-RC system has hindered the detailed mechanistic and structural analysis of MCM2-7 loading for a long time. We have reconstituted Saccharomyces cerevisiae pre-RC formation with purified proteins and showed efficient loading of MCM2-7 onto origin DNA in vitro. MCM2-7 loading was found to be dependent on the presence of all pre-RC proteins, origin DNA, and ATP hydrolysis. The quaternary structure of MCM2-7 changes during pre-RC formation: MCM2-7 before loading is a single hexamer in solution but is transformed into a double-hexamer during pre-RC formation. Using electron microscopy (EM), we observed that loaded MCM2-7 encircles DNA. The loaded MCM2-7 complex can slide on DNA, and sliding is not directional. Our results provide key insights into mechanisms of pre-RC formation and have important implications for understanding the role of the MCM2-7 in establishment of bidirectional replication forks.
| S-EPMC2787165 | biostudies-literature
Project description:DNA replication transforms cohesin rings dynamically associated with chromatin into the cohesive form to establish sister-chromatid cohesion. Here, we show that, in human cells, cohesin loading onto chromosomes during early S phase requires the replicative helicase MCM2-7 and the kinase DDK. Cohesin and its loader SCC2/4 (NIPBL/MAU2 in humans) associate with DDK and phosphorylated MCM2-7. This binding does not require MCM2-7 activation by CDC45 and GINS, but its persistence on activated MCM2-7 requires fork-stabilizing replisome components. Inactivation of these replisome components impairs cohesin loading and causes interphase cohesion defects. Interfering with Okazaki fragment processing or nucleosome assembly does not impact cohesion. Therefore, MCM2-7-coupled cohesin loading promotes cohesion establishment, which occurs without Okazaki fragment maturation. We propose that the cohesin-loader complex bound to MCM2-7 is mobilized upon helicase activation, transiently held by the replisome, and deposited behind the replication fork to encircle sister chromatids and establish cohesion.
| S-EPMC5897099 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Binding of Cdc6 to the origin recognition complex (ORC) is a key step in the assembly of a pre-replication complex (pre-RC) at origins of DNA replication. ORC recognizes specific origin DNA sequences in an ATP-dependent manner. Here we demonstrate cooperative binding of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Cdc6 to ORC on DNA in an ATP-dependent manner, which induces a change in the pattern of origin binding that requires the Orc1 ATPase. The reaction is blocked by specific origin mutations that do not interfere with the interaction between ORC and DNA. Single-particle reconstruction of electron microscopic images shows that the ORC-Cdc6 complex forms a ring-shaped structure with dimensions similar to those of the ring-shaped MCM helicase. The ORC-Cdc6 structure is predicted to contain six AAA+ subunits, analogous to other ATP-dependent protein machines. We suggest that Cdc6 and origin DNA activate a molecular switch in ORC that contributes to pre-RC assembly.
| S-EPMC2952294 | biostudies-literature