Dataset Information

Accelerated growth in the absence of DNA replication origins

ABSTRACT: DNA replication initiates at defined sites called origins, which serve as binding sites for initiator proteins that recruit the replicative machinery. Origins differ in number and structure across the three domains of life1 and their properties determine the dynamics of chromosome replication. Bacteria and some archaea replicate from single origins, whilst most archaea and all eukaryotes replicate using multiple origins. Initiation mechanisms that rely on homologous recombination operate in some viruses. Here we show that such mechanisms also operate in archaea. We have used deep sequencing to study replication in Haloferax volcanii. Four chromosomal origins of differing activity were identified. Deletion of individual origins resulted in perturbed replication dynamics and reduced growth. However, a strain lacking all origins has no apparent defects and grows significantly faster than wild-type. Origin-less cells initiate replication at dispersed sites rather than at discrete origins and have an absolute requirement for the recombinase RadA, unlike strains lacking individual origins. Our results demonstrate that homologous recombination alone can efficiently initiate the replication of an entire cellular genome. This raises the question of what purpose replication origins serve and why they have evolved.

ORGANISM(S): Haloferax volcanii

PROVIDER: GSE41961 | GEO | 2013/11/03

SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA178711

REPOSITORIES: GEO

ACCESS DATA

Dataset's files

Source:

			Action	DRS
		Other

Items per page:

1 - 1 of 1

Similar Datasets

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.

Project description:Background: Eukaryotic cells must inhibit re-initiation of DNA replication at each of the thousands of origins in their genome because re-initiation events can generate genomic alterations with extraordinary frequency. To minimize the probability of re-initiation from so many origins, cells use a battery of regulatory mechanisms that reduce the activity of replication initiation proteins. Given the global nature of these mechanisms, it has been presumed that all origins are inhibited identically. However, transiently disabling these mechanisms causes replication origins to re-initiate with diverse efficiencies, which do not correlate with known differences in the efficiency or timing of origin initiation during normal DNA replication. These observations suggest an additional local layer of replication control that can differentially influence how re-initiation is regulated at distinct origins. Principal Findings: We have identified novel genetic elements that are necessary for preferential re-initiation of two origins and sufficient to confer preferential re-initiation on heterologous origins when the control of re-initiation is partially deregulated. The elements do not enhance the S phase timing or efficiency of adjacent origins and thus are specifically acting as re-initiation promoters (RIPs). We have mapped the two RIPs to ~60bp AT rich sequences that act in a distance- and sequence-dependent manner. During the induction of re-replication, Mcm2-7 re-associates both with origins that preferentially re-initiate and origins that do not, suggesting that the RIP elements can overcome a block to re-initiation imposed after Mcm2-7 associates with origins. Conclusions/Significance: We have uncovered a local level of control in the block to re-initiation. This local control creates a complex genomic landscape of re-replication potential that is revealed when global mechanisms preventing re-replication are peeled away. Hence, if re-replication does contribute to genomic alterations, as has been speculated for cancer cells, some regions of the genome may be more susceptible to these alterations than others. 142 array CGH experiments are presented. Each experiment is done in experimental replicate. Cells grown as described in Richardson CD and Li JJ PLoS Genetics 2014. Ch1 samples taken from replicating (S phase) or re-replicating (M phase + 3/6 hour induced). Ch2 samples taken from M phase arrested DNA.

Dataset Information

Accelerated growth in the absence of DNA replication origins

Dataset's files

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets