Project description:Yeast Mrc1, ortholog of metazoan Claspin, is both a central component of normal DNA replication forks and a mediator of the S phase checkpoint. We report that Mrc1 interacts with Pol2, the catalytic subunit of DNA polymerase ε, essential for leading strand DNA replication and for the checkpoint. In unperturbed cells, Mrc1 interacts independently with both the N-terminal and C-terminal halves of Pol2 (Pol2N and Pol2C). Strikingly, phosphorylation of Mrc1 during the S phase checkpoint abolishes Pol2N binding but not Pol2C interaction. Mrc1 is required to stabilize Pol2 at replication forks stalled in HU. The bimodal Mrc1/Pol2 interaction may identify a novel step in regulating the S phase checkpoint response to DNA damage on the leading strand. We propose that Mrc1, which also interacts with the MCMs, may modulate coupling of polymerization and unwinding at the replication fork.
Project description:In budding yeast, DNA lesions and stalled replication forks are sensed by the apical checkpoint kinase Mec1/ATR, which leads to the downstream activation of the effector kinase Rad53/CHK1. This activation depends on Rad9 and Mrc1, two checkpoint mediators that integrate the nature of the challenge in different phases of the cell cycle. Rad9 mediates the activation of the DNA damage checkpoint throughout the cell cycle, while the function of Mrc1 is restricted to the S phase of the cell cycle, when it travels with the replication fork and activates the DNA replication checkpoint in response to a variety of replication impediments. In this scenario, the role of Rad9 in S phase has been largely disregarded since the discovery of Mrc1, because Rad9 is dispensable for the timely activation of Rad53 in response to the drug hydroxyurea, which halts forks, and is only recruited to those stalled forks when Mrc1 is absent. Thus, Rad9 is simply believed to act as a backup pathway for Mrc1 during replication. We have re-evaluated the role of Rad9 when DNA damage arises during replication and characterized its functional interplay with Mrc1. To this end, we have used genome-wide approaches, single-molecule analysis, pulsed-field and 2D gel electrophoresis, as well as a careful combination of different replication-challenging drugs. We have found that both Mrc1 and Rad9 play distinct but complementary functions in the replication stress response during S phase, for they coordinate the early and late functions of Rad53, respectively. While Mrc1 is responsible for the fast activation of Rad53 in response to fork-halting drugs in order to repress late origins, Rad9 maintains Rad53 in an active state during prolonged fork arrest and is necessary to sustain this response for long periods. Remarkably, we also have found that Rad9 possesses the unprecedented activity of slowing down replication fork progression in response to DNA damage. This work thus restores the legitimate role of Rad9 as a central actor in the maintenance of genome integrity during replication. This has important implications for our understanding of the management of the checkpoint during perturbed replication in human cells, for Rad9 has three orthologues, 53BP1, BRCA1 and MDC1, whose contribution to this aspect of genome integrity remains largely unexplored.
Project description:Here we show that the asymmetric DNA synthesis is also observed in mec1-100 and mrc1-AQ cells defective in replication checkpoint, but surprisingly, not in mrc1∆ cells in which both DNA replication and checkpoint functions of Mrc1 are missing. Furthermore, depletion of Mrc1 or its partner in DNA replication, Tof1, suppresses the asymmetric DNA synthesis in rad53-1 mutant cells.
Project description:Cdc7/Hsk1 is a conserved kinase required for initiation of DNA replication that potentially regulates timing and locations of replication origin firing. Here, we show that viability of fission yeast hsk1∆ cells can be restored by loss of mrc1, which is required for maintenance of replication fork integrity, by cds1∆, or by a checkpoint-deficient mutant of mrc1. In these mutants, normally inactive origins are activated in the presence of HU and binding of Cdc45 to MCM is stimulated. mrc1∆ bypasses hsk1∆ more efficiently because of its checkpoint-independent inhibitory functions. Unexpectedly, hsk1∆ is viable at 37°C. More DNA is synthesized, and some dormant origins fire in the presence of HU at 37°C. On the other hand, hsk1∆ bypass strains grow poorly at 25°C compared to at higher temperatures. Our results show that Hsk1 functions for DNA replication can be bypassed by different genetic backgrounds as well as under varied physiological conditions, providing additional evidence for plasticity of the replication program in eukaryotes. BrdU incorporation profiles at early S-phase in mrc1∆, cds1∆ and hsk1-89 mutants.
Project description:Mrc1 is a conserved checkpoint mediator protein that transduces replication-stress signal to downstream effector kinase. Loss of mrc1 checkpoint activity results in aberrant activation of late/dormant origins in the presence of hydroxyurea. Mrc1 was also suggested to regulate orders of early-origin firing in a checkpoint-independent manner, but its mechanism was unknown. Here we identify HBS (Hsk1 Bypass Segment) on Mrc1. ∆HBS does not suppress late/dormant origin firing in the presence of hydroxyurea but causes precocious and enhanced activation of weak early-firing origins during normal S-phase progression, and bypasses the requirement of Hsk1 for growth. This may be caused by disruption of intramolecular binding between HBS and NTHBS (N-terminal-Target-of-HBS). Hsk1 binds to Mrc1 through HBS and phosphorylates a segment adjacent to NTHBS, disrupting intramolecular interaction. We propose that Mrc1 exerts “brake” on initiation (through intra-molecular interaction) and this brake can be released (upon loss of intra-molecular interaction) by either Hsk1-mediated phosphorylation of Mrc1 or deletion of HBS (or phosphomimic mutation) which can bypass the function of Hsk1 for growth. The “brake” mechanism may explain the checkpoint-independent regulation of early origin firing in fission yeast.
Project description:How early- and late-firing origins are selected on eukaryotic chromosomes is largely unknown. Here we show that Mrc1, a conserved factor required for stabilization of stalled replication forks, selectively binds to the early-firing origins in a manner independent of Cdc45 and Hsk1 kinase in fission yeast. In mrc1∆ (and in swi1∆ to some extent), efficiency of firing is stimulated and its timing is advanced selectively at those origins that are normally bound by Mrc1. In contrast, the late or inefficient origins which are not bound by Mrc1 are not activated in mrc1∆. The enhanced firing and precocious Cdc45 loading at Mrc1-bound early-firing origins are not observed in a checkpoint mutant of mrc1, suggesting that non-checkpoint function is involved in maintaining the normal program of early-firing origins. We propose that pre-firing binding of Mrc1 is an important marker of early-firing origins which are precociously activated by the absence this protein. Mrc1 binding profiles at G1/S boundary or early S-phase in wild type vs hsk1-89 mutant.
Project description:Chromosomal DNA replication involves the coordinated activity of hundreds to thousands of replication origins. Individual replication origins are subject to epigenetic regulation of their activity during S-phase, resulting in differential efficiencies and timings of replication initiation during S-phase. This regulation is thought to involve chromatin structure and organization into timing domains with differential ability to recruit limiting replication factors. Rif1 has recently been identified as a genome-wide regulator of replication timing in fission yeast and in mammalian cells. However, previous studies in budding yeast have suggested that Rif1’s role in controlling replication timing may be limited to subtelomeric domains and derives from its established role in telomere length regulation. We have analyzed replication timing by analyzing BrdU incorporation genome-wide, and report that Rif1 regulates the timing of late/dormant replication origins throughout the S. cerevisiae genome. Analysis of pfa4∆ cells, which are defective in palmitoylation and membrane association of Rif1, suggests that replication timing regulation by Rif1 is independent of its role in localizing telomeres to the nuclear periphery. Intra-S checkpoint signaling is intact in rif1∆ cells, and checkpoint-defective mec1∆ cells do not comparably deregulate replication timing, together indicating that Rif1 regulates replication timing through a mechanism independent of this checkpoint. Our results indicate that the Rif1 mechanism regulates origin timing irrespective of proximity to a chromosome end, and suggest instead that telomere sequences merely provide abundant binding sites for proteins that recruit Rif1. Still, the abundance of Rif1 binding in telomeric domains may facilitate Rif1-mediated repression of non-telomeric origins that are more distal from centromeres. 30 total samples: (6 samples - BrdU- HU arrest 45min with 2 replicates, strains: WT, rif1 delta, pfa4 delta) (12 samples -S-phase BrdU time course with 2 replicates at 25 and 35 min, strains: WT, rif1 delta, mec1_100) (12 samples - S-phase BrdU time course with 2 replicates at 25 and 35 min, strains: sml1 delta, sml1 delta rif1 delta, sml1 delta mec1 delta)
Project description:Chromosomal DNA replication involves the coordinated activity of hundreds to thousands of replication origins. Individual replication origins are subject to epigenetic regulation of their activity during S-phase, resulting in differential efficiencies and timings of replication initiation during S-phase. This regulation is thought to involve chromatin structure and organization into timing domains with differential ability to recruit limiting replication factors. Rif1 has recently been identified as a genome-wide regulator of replication timing in fission yeast and in mammalian cells. However, previous studies in budding yeast have suggested that Rif1’s role in controlling replication timing may be limited to subtelomeric domains and derives from its established role in telomere length regulation. We have analyzed replication timing by analyzing BrdU incorporation genome-wide, and report that Rif1 regulates the timing of late/dormant replication origins throughout the S. cerevisiae genome. Analysis of pfa4∆ cells, which are defective in palmitoylation and membrane association of Rif1, suggests that replication timing regulation by Rif1 is independent of its role in localizing telomeres to the nuclear periphery. Intra-S checkpoint signaling is intact in rif1∆ cells, and checkpoint-defective mec1∆ cells do not comparably deregulate replication timing, together indicating that Rif1 regulates replication timing through a mechanism independent of this checkpoint. Our results indicate that the Rif1 mechanism regulates origin timing irrespective of proximity to a chromosome end, and suggest instead that telomere sequences merely provide abundant binding sites for proteins that recruit Rif1. Still, the abundance of Rif1 binding in telomeric domains may facilitate Rif1-mediated repression of non-telomeric origins that are more distal from centromeres. 4 samples BrdU-IP-seq in HU, 2 strains with 2-replicates each (strains:WT and rif1 delta)
Project description:Yeast Sen1Senataxin is a RNA/DNA helicase that preserves replication forks across RNA Polymerase II-transcribed genes by counteracting RNA:DNA hybrids accumulation. We show that in Sen1-depleted cells early forks clashing head-on with transcription halt, and impair progression of sister forks within the same replicon. Unsolved replication-transcription collisions trigger the local firing of dormant origins that rescue arrested forks. In sen1 mutants the MRX and Mrc1/Ctf4-complexes protect those forks clashing with transcription by preventing genotoxic fork-resection events mediated by the Exo1 nuclease. Hence, sister forks within the same replicon remain coupled when one of the two forks halts. This is different when forks encounter double strand breaks. Moreover, the local firing of dormant origins is not prevented by checkpoint activation but depends on delayed adjacent forks. Furthermore, a productive head-on clash between replication and transcription requires the tuning of origin firing and coordination between Sen1, the MRX and Mrc1/Ctf4-complexes and Exo1.