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Mohammed Khalid AA, Parisse P, Medagli B, Onesti S, Casalis L. Atomic Force Microscopy Investigation of the Interactions between the MCM Helicase and DNA. MATERIALS 2021; 14:ma14030687. [PMID: 33540751 PMCID: PMC7867263 DOI: 10.3390/ma14030687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2020] [Revised: 01/21/2021] [Accepted: 01/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The MCM (minichromosome maintenance) protein complex forms an hexameric ring and has a key role in the replication machinery of Eukaryotes and Archaea, where it functions as the replicative helicase opening up the DNA double helix ahead of the polymerases. Here, we present a study of the interaction between DNA and the archaeal MCM complex from Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM) single molecule imaging. We first optimized the protocol (surface treatment and buffer conditions) to obtain AFM images of surface-equilibrated DNA molecules before and after the interaction with the protein complex. We discriminated between two modes of interaction, one in which the protein induces a sharp bend in the DNA, and one where there is no bending. We found that the presence of the MCM complex also affects the DNA contour length. A possible interpretation of the observed behavior is that in one case the hexameric ring encircles the dsDNA, while in the other the nucleic acid wraps on the outside of the ring, undergoing a change of direction. We confirmed this topographical assignment by testing two mutants, one affecting the N-terminal β-hairpins projecting towards the central channel, and thus preventing DNA loading, the other lacking an external subdomain and thus preventing wrapping. The statistical analysis of the distribution of the protein complexes between the two modes, together with the dissection of the changes of DNA contour length and binding angle upon interaction, for the wild type and the two mutants, is consistent with the hypothesis. We discuss the results in view of the various modes of nucleic acid interactions that have been proposed for both archaeal and eukaryotic MCM complexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amna Abdalla Mohammed Khalid
- Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste, 34149 Trieste, Italy; (A.A.M.K.); (B.M.)
- Department of Physics, PhD School in Nanotechnology, University of Trieste, 34127 Trieste, Italy
| | - Pietro Parisse
- Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste, 34149 Trieste, Italy; (A.A.M.K.); (B.M.)
- Istituto Officina dei Materiali, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (IOM-CNR), 34149 Trieste, Italy
- Correspondence: (P.P.); (S.O.); (L.C.)
| | - Barbara Medagli
- Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste, 34149 Trieste, Italy; (A.A.M.K.); (B.M.)
- Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Trieste, 34127 Trieste, Italy
| | - Silvia Onesti
- Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste, 34149 Trieste, Italy; (A.A.M.K.); (B.M.)
- Correspondence: (P.P.); (S.O.); (L.C.)
| | - Loredana Casalis
- Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste, 34149 Trieste, Italy; (A.A.M.K.); (B.M.)
- Correspondence: (P.P.); (S.O.); (L.C.)
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Simon AC, Sannino V, Costanzo V, Pellegrini L. Structure of human Cdc45 and implications for CMG helicase function. Nat Commun 2016; 7:11638. [PMID: 27189187 PMCID: PMC4873980 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms11638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2016] [Accepted: 04/14/2016] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Cell division cycle protein 45 (Cdc45) is required for DNA synthesis during genome duplication, as a component of the Cdc45-MCM-GINS (CMG) helicase. Despite its essential biological function, its biochemical role in DNA replication has remained elusive. Here we report the 2.1-Å crystal structure of human Cdc45, which confirms its evolutionary link with the bacterial RecJ nuclease and reveals several unexpected features that underpin its function in eukaryotic DNA replication. These include a long-range interaction between N- and C-terminal DHH domains, blocking access to the DNA-binding groove of its RecJ-like fold, and a helical insertion in its N-terminal DHH domain, which appears poised for replisome interactions. In combination with available electron microscopy data, we validate by mutational analysis the mechanism of Cdc45 association with the MCM ring and GINS co-activator, critical for CMG assembly. These findings provide an indispensable molecular basis to rationalize the essential role of Cdc45 in genomic duplication. The cell cycle division protein Cdc45 is required for genome duplication in eukaryotes. Here, the authors determine the crystal structure of human Cdc45 and combine it with functional data to improve our understanding of its role in DNA replication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aline C Simon
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1GA, UK
| | - Vincenzo Sannino
- DNA Metabolism Laboratory, FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology Foundation, 20139 Milan, Italy
| | - Vincenzo Costanzo
- DNA Metabolism Laboratory, FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology Foundation, 20139 Milan, Italy
| | - Luca Pellegrini
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1GA, UK
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3
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Graham BW, Tao Y, Dodge KL, Thaxton CT, Olaso D, Young NL, Marshall AG, Trakselis MA. DNA Interactions Probed by Hydrogen-Deuterium Exchange (HDX) Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry Confirm External Binding Sites on the Minichromosomal Maintenance (MCM) Helicase. J Biol Chem 2016; 291:12467-12480. [PMID: 27044751 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m116.719591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The archaeal minichromosomal maintenance (MCM) helicase from Sulfolobus solfataricus (SsoMCM) is a model for understanding structural and mechanistic aspects of DNA unwinding. Although interactions of the encircled DNA strand within the central channel provide an accepted mode for translocation, interactions with the excluded strand on the exterior surface have mostly been ignored with regard to DNA unwinding. We have previously proposed an extension of the traditional steric exclusion model of unwinding to also include significant contributions with the excluded strand during unwinding, termed steric exclusion and wrapping (SEW). The SEW model hypothesizes that the displaced single strand tracks along paths on the exterior surface of hexameric helicases to protect single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) and stabilize the complex in a forward unwinding mode. Using hydrogen/deuterium exchange monitored by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance MS, we have probed the binding sites for ssDNA, using multiple substrates targeting both the encircled and excluded strand interactions. In each experiment, we have obtained >98.7% sequence coverage of SsoMCM from >650 peptides (5-30 residues in length) and are able to identify interacting residues on both the interior and exterior of SsoMCM. Based on identified contacts, positively charged residues within the external waist region were mutated and shown to generally lower DNA unwinding without negatively affecting the ATP hydrolysis. The combined data globally identify binding sites for ssDNA during SsoMCM unwinding as well as validating the importance of the SEW model for hexameric helicase unwinding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian W Graham
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260
| | - Yeqing Tao
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306
| | - Katie L Dodge
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Baylor University, Waco, Texas 76798
| | - Carly T Thaxton
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Baylor University, Waco, Texas 76798
| | - Danae Olaso
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Baylor University, Waco, Texas 76798
| | - Nicolas L Young
- National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Tallahassee, Florida 32310
| | - Alan G Marshall
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306; National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Tallahassee, Florida 32310
| | - Michael A Trakselis
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Baylor University, Waco, Texas 76798.
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4
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Characterization of the MCM homohexamer from the thermoacidophilic euryarchaeon Picrophilus torridus. Sci Rep 2015; 5:9057. [PMID: 25762096 PMCID: PMC4356968 DOI: 10.1038/srep09057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2014] [Accepted: 02/05/2015] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The typical archaeal MCM exhibits helicase activity independently invitro. This study characterizes MCM from the euryarchaeon Picrophilus torridus. While PtMCM hydrolyzes ATP in DNA-independent manner, it displays very poor ability to unwind DNA independently, and then too only under acidic conditions. The protein exists stably in complex with PtGINS in whole cell lysates, interacting directly with PtGINS under neutral and acidic conditions. GINS strongly activates MCM helicase activity, but only at low pH. In consonance with this, PtGINS activates PtMCM-mediated ATP hydrolysis only at low pH, with the amount of ATP hydrolyzed during the helicase reaction increasing more than fifty-fold in the presence of GINS. While the stimulation of MCM-mediated helicase activity by GINS has been reported in MCMs from P.furiosus, T.kodakarensis, and very recently, T.acidophilum, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of an MCM helicase demonstrating DNA unwinding activity only at such acidic pH, across all archaea and eukaryotes. PtGINS may induce/stabilize a conducive conformation of PtMCM under acidic conditions, favouring PtMCM-mediated DNA unwinding coupled to ATP hydrolysis. Our findings underscore the existence of divergent modes of replication regulation among archaea and the importance of investigating replication events in more archaeal organisms.
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Wiedemann C, Szambowska A, Häfner S, Ohlenschläger O, Gührs KH, Görlach M. Structure and regulatory role of the C-terminal winged helix domain of the archaeal minichromosome maintenance complex. Nucleic Acids Res 2015; 43:2958-67. [PMID: 25712103 PMCID: PMC4357721 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkv120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The minichromosome maintenance complex (MCM) represents the replicative DNA helicase both in eukaryotes and archaea. Here, we describe the solution structure of the C-terminal domains of the archaeal MCMs of Sulfolobus solfataricus (Sso) and Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus (Mth). Those domains consist of a structurally conserved truncated winged helix (WH) domain lacking the two typical ‘wings’ of canonical WH domains. A less conserved N-terminal extension links this WH module to the MCM AAA+ domain forming the ATPase center. In the Sso MCM this linker contains a short α-helical element. Using Sso MCM mutants, including chimeric constructs containing Mth C-terminal domain elements, we show that the ATPase and helicase activity of the Sso MCM is significantly modulated by the short α-helical linker element and by N-terminal residues of the first α-helix of the truncated WH module. Finally, based on our structural and functional data, we present a docking-derived model of the Sso MCM, which implies an allosteric control of the ATPase center by the C-terminal domain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christoph Wiedemann
- Research Group Biomolecular NMR Spectroscopy, Leibniz Institute for Age Research-Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI), Beutenbergstr. 11, D-07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Anna Szambowska
- Research Group Biochemistry, Leibniz Institute for Age Research-Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI), Beutenbergstr. 11, D-07745 Jena, Germany Laboratory of Molecular Biology IBB PAS, affiliated with University of Gdansk, Wita Stwosza 59, Gdansk, Poland
| | - Sabine Häfner
- Research Group Biomolecular NMR Spectroscopy, Leibniz Institute for Age Research-Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI), Beutenbergstr. 11, D-07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Oliver Ohlenschläger
- Research Group Biomolecular NMR Spectroscopy, Leibniz Institute for Age Research-Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI), Beutenbergstr. 11, D-07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Karl-Heinz Gührs
- Protein laboratory, Leibniz Institute for Age Research-Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI), Beutenbergstr. 11, D-07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Matthias Görlach
- Research Group Biomolecular NMR Spectroscopy, Leibniz Institute for Age Research-Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI), Beutenbergstr. 11, D-07745 Jena, Germany
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6
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Simon AC, Zhou JC, Perera RL, van Deursen F, Evrin C, Ivanova ME, Kilkenny ML, Renault L, Kjaer S, Matak-Vinković D, Labib K, Costa A, Pellegrini L. A Ctf4 trimer couples the CMG helicase to DNA polymerase α in the eukaryotic replisome. Nature 2014; 510:293-297. [PMID: 24805245 PMCID: PMC4059944 DOI: 10.1038/nature13234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 158] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2013] [Accepted: 03/06/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Efficient duplication of the genome requires the concerted action of helicase and DNA polymerases at replication forks to avoid stalling of the replication machinery and consequent genomic instability. In eukaryotes, the physical coupling between helicase and DNA polymerases remains poorly understood. Here we define the molecular mechanism by which the yeast Ctf4 protein links the Cdc45-MCM-GINS (CMG) DNA helicase to DNA polymerase α (Pol α) within the replisome. We use X-ray crystallography and electron microscopy to show that Ctf4 self-associates in a constitutive disk-shaped trimer. Trimerization depends on a β-propeller domain in the carboxy-terminal half of the protein, which is fused to a helical extension that protrudes from one face of the trimeric disk. Critically, Pol α and the CMG helicase share a common mechanism of interaction with Ctf4. We show that the amino-terminal tails of the catalytic subunit of Pol α and the Sld5 subunit of GINS contain a conserved Ctf4-binding motif that docks onto the exposed helical extension of a Ctf4 protomer within the trimer. Accordingly, we demonstrate that one Ctf4 trimer can support binding of up to three partner proteins, including the simultaneous association with both Pol α and GINS. Our findings indicate that Ctf4 can couple two molecules of Pol α to one CMG helicase within the replisome, providing a new model for lagging-strand synthesis in eukaryotes that resembles the emerging model for the simpler replisome of Escherichia coli. The ability of Ctf4 to act as a platform for multivalent interactions illustrates a mechanism for the concurrent recruitment of factors that act together at the fork.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aline C Simon
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1GA, UK
| | - Jin C Zhou
- Clare Hall Laboratories, Cancer Research U.K. London Research Institute, London EN6 3LD, UK
| | - Rajika L Perera
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1GA, UK
| | - Frederick van Deursen
- Cancer Research U.K. Manchester Institute, University of Manchester, Manchester M20 4BX, UK
| | - Cecile Evrin
- MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, UK
| | - Marina E Ivanova
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1GA, UK
| | - Mairi L Kilkenny
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1GA, UK
| | - Ludovic Renault
- Clare Hall Laboratories, Cancer Research U.K. London Research Institute, London EN6 3LD, UK
| | - Svend Kjaer
- Protein purification, Cancer Research U.K. London Research Institute, London WC2A 3LY, UK
| | | | - Karim Labib
- MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, UK
| | - Alessandro Costa
- Clare Hall Laboratories, Cancer Research U.K. London Research Institute, London EN6 3LD, UK
| | - Luca Pellegrini
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1GA, UK
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7
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Fu Y, Slaymaker IM, Wang J, Wang G, Chen XS. The 1.8-Å crystal structure of the N-terminal domain of an archaeal MCM as a right-handed filament. J Mol Biol 2013; 426:1512-23. [PMID: 24378617 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2013.12.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2013] [Revised: 12/18/2013] [Accepted: 12/19/2013] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Mini-chromosome maintenance (MCM) proteins are the replicative helicase necessary for DNA replication in both eukarya and archaea. Most of archaea only have one MCM gene. Here, we report a 1.8-Å crystal structure of the N-terminal MCM from the archaeon Thermoplasma acidophilum (tapMCM). In the structure, the MCM N-terminus forms a right-handed filament that contains six subunits in each turn, with a diameter of 25Å of the central channel opening. The inner surface is highly positively charged, indicating DNA binding. This filament structure with six subunits per turn may also suggests a potential role for an open-ring structure for hexameric MCM and dynamic conformational changes in initiation and elongation stages of DNA replication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Fu
- Molecular and Computational Biology Program, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Ian M Slaymaker
- Molecular and Computational Biology Program, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Junfeng Wang
- Molecular and Computational Biology Program, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Ganggang Wang
- Molecular and Computational Biology Program, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Xiaojiang S Chen
- Molecular and Computational Biology Program, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA; Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA; Center of Excellence in NanoBiophysics, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA; Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
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8
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The role of bacterial enhancer binding proteins as specialized activators of σ54-dependent transcription. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 2013; 76:497-529. [PMID: 22933558 DOI: 10.1128/mmbr.00006-12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 240] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacterial enhancer binding proteins (bEBPs) are transcriptional activators that assemble as hexameric rings in their active forms and utilize ATP hydrolysis to remodel the conformation of RNA polymerase containing the alternative sigma factor σ(54). We present a comprehensive and detailed summary of recent advances in our understanding of how these specialized molecular machines function. The review is structured by introducing each of the three domains in turn: the central catalytic domain, the N-terminal regulatory domain, and the C-terminal DNA binding domain. The role of the central catalytic domain is presented with particular reference to (i) oligomerization, (ii) ATP hydrolysis, and (iii) the key GAFTGA motif that contacts σ(54) for remodeling. Each of these functions forms a potential target of the signal-sensing N-terminal regulatory domain, which can act either positively or negatively to control the activation of σ(54)-dependent transcription. Finally, we focus on the DNA binding function of the C-terminal domain and the enhancer sites to which it binds. Particular attention is paid to the importance of σ(54) to the bacterial cell and its unique role in regulating transcription.
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9
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Medagli B, Onesti S. Structure and mechanism of hexameric helicases. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2013; 767:75-95. [PMID: 23161007 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4614-5037-5_4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Hexameric helicases are responsible for many biological processes, ranging from DNA replication in various life domains to DNA repair, transcriptional regulation and RNA metabolism, and encompass superfamilies 3-6 (SF3-6).To harness the chemical energy from ATP hydrolysis for mechanical work, hexameric helicases have a conserved core engine, called ASCE, that belongs to a subdivision of the P-loop NTPases. Some of the ring helicases (SF4 and SF5) use a variant of ASCE known as RecA-like, while some (SF3 and SF6) use another variant known as AAA+ fold. The NTP-binding sites are located at the interface between monomers and include amino-acid residues coming from neighbouring subunits, providing a mean for small structural changes within the ATP-binding site to be amplified into large inter-subunit movement.The ring structure has a central channel which encircles the nucleic acid. The topological link between the protein and the nucleic acid substrate increases the stability and processivity of the enzyme. This is probably the reason why within cellular systems the critical step of unwinding dsDNA ahead of the replication fork seems to be almost invariably carried out by a toroidal helicase, whether in bacteria, archaea or eukaryotes, as well as in some viruses.Over the last few years, a large number of biochemical, biophysical and structural data have thrown new light onto the architecture and function of these remarkable machines. Although the evidence is still limited to a couple of systems, biochemical and structural results suggest that motors based on RecA and AAA+ folds have converged on similar mechanisms to couple ATP-driven conformational changes to movement along nucleic acids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Medagli
- Structural Biology, Sincrotrone Trieste (Elettra), Area Science Pk, Basovizza, Trieste, Italy,
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10
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Stelter M, Gutsche I, Kapp U, Bazin A, Bajic G, Goret G, Jamin M, Timmins J, Terradot L. Architecture of a Dodecameric Bacterial Replicative Helicase. Structure 2012; 20:554-64. [DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2012.01.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2011] [Revised: 01/17/2012] [Accepted: 01/22/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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Sen D, Nandakumar D, Tang GQ, Patel SS. Human mitochondrial DNA helicase TWINKLE is both an unwinding and annealing helicase. J Biol Chem 2012; 287:14545-56. [PMID: 22383523 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m111.309468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
TWINKLE is a nucleus-encoded human mitochondrial (mt)DNA helicase. Point mutations in TWINKLE are associated with heritable neuromuscular diseases characterized by deletions in the mtDNA. To understand the biochemical basis of these diseases, it is important to define the roles of TWINKLE in mtDNA metabolism by studying its enzymatic activities. To this end, we purified native TWINKLE from Escherichia coli. The recombinant TWINKLE assembles into hexamers and higher oligomers, and addition of MgUTP stabilizes hexamers over higher oligomers. Probing into the DNA unwinding activity, we discovered that the efficiency of unwinding is greatly enhanced in the presence of a heterologous single strand-binding protein or a single-stranded (ss) DNA that is complementary to the unwound strand. We show that TWINKLE, although a helicase, has an antagonistic activity of annealing two complementary ssDNAs that interferes with unwinding in the absence of gp2.5 or ssDNA trap. Furthermore, only ssDNA and not double-stranded (ds)DNA competitively inhibits the annealing activity, although both DNAs bind with high affinities. This implies that dsDNA binds to a site that is distinct from the ssDNA-binding site that promotes annealing. Fluorescence anisotropy competition binding experiments suggest that TWINKLE has more than one ssDNA-binding sites, and we speculate that a surface-exposed ssDNA-specific site is involved in catalyzing DNA annealing. We propose that the strand annealing activity of TWINKLE may play a role in recombination-mediated replication initiation found in the mitochondria of mammalian brain and heart or in replication fork regression during repair of damaged DNA replication forks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Doyel Sen
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA
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12
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Abstract
Minichromosome maintenance (MCM) complexes have been identified as the primary replicative helicases responsible for unwinding DNA for genome replication. The focus of this chapter is to discuss the current structural and functional understanding of MCMs and their role at origins of replication, which are based mostly on the studies of MCM proteins and MCM complexes from archaeal genomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian M Slaymaker
- Molecular and Computational Biology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA
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13
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Krueger S, Shin JH, Raghunandan S, Curtis JE, Kelman Z. Atomistic ensemble modeling and small-angle neutron scattering of intrinsically disordered protein complexes: applied to minichromosome maintenance protein. Biophys J 2011; 101:2999-3007. [PMID: 22208199 PMCID: PMC3244067 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2011.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2011] [Revised: 10/21/2011] [Accepted: 11/01/2011] [Indexed: 10/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The minichromosome maintenance (MCM) proteins are thought to function as the replicative helicases in archaea and eukarya. In this work we determined the solution structure of the N-terminal portion of the MCM complex from the archaeon Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus (N-mtMCM) in the presence and absence of DNA using small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). N-mtMCM is a multimeric protein complex that consists of 12 monomers, each of which contains three distinct domains and two unstructured regions. Using an all-atom approach incorporating modern force field and Monte Carlo methods to allow the unstructured regions of each monomer to be varied independently, we generated an ensemble of biologically relevant structures for the complex. An examination of the subsets of structures that were most consistent with the SANS data revealed that large movements between the three domains of N-mtMCM can occur in solution. Furthermore, changes in the SANS curves upon DNA binding could be correlated to the motion of a particular N-mtMCM domain. These results provide structural support to the previously reported biochemical observations that large domain motions are required for the activation of the MCM helicase in archaea and eukarya. The methods developed here for N-mtMCM solution structure modeling should be suitable for other large protein complexes with unstructured flexible regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Krueger
- National Institute of Standards and Technology Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA.
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14
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Ogino H, Ishino S, Mayanagi K, Haugland GT, Birkeland NK, Yamagishi A, Ishino Y. The GINS complex from the thermophilic archaeon, Thermoplasma acidophilum may function as a homotetramer in DNA replication. Extremophiles 2011; 15:529-39. [PMID: 21656171 DOI: 10.1007/s00792-011-0383-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2011] [Accepted: 05/20/2011] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The eukaryotic GINS heterotetramer, consisting of Sld5, Psf1, Psf2, and Psf3, participates in "CMG complex" formation with mini-chromosome maintenance (MCM) and Cdc45 as a key component of a replicative helicase. There are only two homologs of the GINS proteins in Archaea, and these proteins, Gins51 and Gins23, form a heterotetrameric GINS with a 2:2 molar ratio. The Pyrococcus furiosus GINS stimulates the ATPase and helicase activities of its cognate MCM, whereas the Sulfolobus solfataricus GINS does not affect those activities of its cognate MCM, although the proteins bind each other. Intriguingly, Thermoplasma acidophilum, as well as many euryarchaea, have only one gene encoding the sequence homologous to that of archaeal Gins protein (Gins51) on the genome. In this study, we investigated the biochemical properties of the gene product (TaGins51). A gel filtration and electron microscopy revealed that TaGins51 forms a homotetramer. A physical interaction between TaGins51 and TaMcm was detected by a surface plasmon resonance analysis. Unexpectedly, TaGins51 inhibited the ATPase activity, but did not affect the helicase activity of its cognate MCM. These results suggest that another factor is required to form a stable helicase complex with MCM and GINS at the replication fork in T. acidophilum cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiromi Ogino
- Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences, Kyushu University, Hakozaki, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, Japan
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15
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Gambus A, Khoudoli GA, Jones RC, Blow JJ. MCM2-7 form double hexamers at licensed origins in Xenopus egg extract. J Biol Chem 2011; 286:11855-64. [PMID: 21282109 PMCID: PMC3064236 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m110.199521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2010] [Revised: 01/06/2011] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
In late mitosis and G1, Mcm2-7 are assembled onto replication origins to license them for initiation in the upcoming S phase. After initiation, Mcm2-7 provide helicase activity to unwind DNA at the replication fork. Here we examine the structure of Mcm2-7 on chromatin in Xenopus egg extracts. We show that prior to replication initiation, Mcm2-7 is present at licensed replication origins in a complex with a molecular mass close to double that of the Mcm2-7 hexamer. This complex has approximately stoichiometric quantities of the 6 Mcm2-7 proteins and we conclude that it consists of a double heterohexamer. This provides a configuration potentially capable of initiating a pair of bidirectional replication forks in S phase. We also show that after initiation, Mcm2-7 associate with Cdc45 and GINS to form a relatively stable CMG (Cdc45-MCM-GINS) complex. The CMG proteins also associate less strongly with other replication proteins, consistent with the idea that a single CMG complex forms the core of the replisome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnieszka Gambus
- From the Wellcome Trust Centre for Gene Regulation and Expression, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom and
| | - Guennadi A. Khoudoli
- From the Wellcome Trust Centre for Gene Regulation and Expression, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom and
| | | | - J. Julian Blow
- From the Wellcome Trust Centre for Gene Regulation and Expression, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom and
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16
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Lubelsky Y, Sasaki T, Kuipers MA, Lucas I, Le Beau MM, Carignon S, Debatisse M, Prinz JA, Dennis JH, Gilbert DM. Pre-replication complex proteins assemble at regions of low nucleosome occupancy within the Chinese hamster dihydrofolate reductase initiation zone. Nucleic Acids Res 2010; 39:3141-55. [PMID: 21148149 PMCID: PMC3082903 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkq1276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Genome-scale mapping of pre-replication complex proteins has not been reported in mammalian cells. Poor enrichment of these proteins at specific sites may be due to dispersed binding, poor epitope availability or cell cycle stage-specific binding. Here, we have mapped sites of biotin-tagged ORC and MCM protein binding in G1-synchronized populations of Chinese hamster cells harboring amplified copies of the dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) locus, using avidin-affinity purification of biotinylated chromatin followed by high-density microarray analysis across the DHFR locus. We have identified several sites of significant enrichment for both complexes distributed throughout the previously identified initiation zone. Analysis of the frequency of initiations across stretched DNA fibers from the DHFR locus confirmed a broad zone of de-localized initiation activity surrounding the sites of ORC and MCM enrichment. Mapping positions of mononucleosomal DNA empirically and computing nucleosome-positioning information in silico revealed that ORC and MCM map to regions of low measured and predicted nucleosome occupancy. Our results demonstrate that specific sites of ORC and MCM enrichment can be detected within a mammalian intitiation zone, and suggest that initiation zones may be regions of generally low nucleosome occupancy where flexible nucleosome positioning permits flexible pre-RC assembly sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoav Lubelsky
- Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA
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17
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Brewster AS, Chen XS. Insights into the MCM functional mechanism: lessons learned from the archaeal MCM complex. Crit Rev Biochem Mol Biol 2010; 45:243-56. [PMID: 20441442 DOI: 10.3109/10409238.2010.484836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
The helicase function of the minichromosome maintenance protein (MCM) is essential for genomic DNA replication in archaea and eukaryotes. There has been rapid progress in studies of the structure and function of MCM proteins from different organisms, leading to better understanding of the MCM helicase mechanism. Because there are a number of excellent reviews on this topic, we will use this review to summarize some of the recent progress, with particular focus on the structural aspects of MCM and their implications for helicase function. Given the hexameric and double hexameric architecture observed by X-ray crystallography and electron microscopy of MCMs from archaeal and eukaryotic cells, we summarize and discuss possible unwinding modes by either a hexameric or a double hexameric helicase. Additionally, our recent crystal structure of a full length archaeal MCM has provided structural information on an intact, multi-domain MCM protein, which includes the salient features of four unusual beta-hairpins from each monomer, and the side channels of a hexamer/double hexamer. These new structural data enable a closer examination of the structural basis of the unwinding mechanisms by MCM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron S Brewster
- Molecular and Computational Biology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
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18
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Sweeney TR, Cisnetto V, Bose D, Bailey M, Wilson JR, Zhang X, Belsham GJ, Curry S. Foot-and-mouth disease virus 2C is a hexameric AAA+ protein with a coordinated ATP hydrolysis mechanism. J Biol Chem 2010; 285:24347-59. [PMID: 20507978 PMCID: PMC2915670 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m110.129940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), a positive sense, single-stranded RNA virus, causes a highly contagious disease in cloven-hoofed livestock. Like other picornaviruses, FMDV has a conserved 2C protein assigned to the superfamily 3 helicases a group of AAA+ ATPases that has a predicted N-terminal membrane-binding amphipathic helix attached to the main ATPase domain. In infected cells, 2C is involved in the formation of membrane vesicles, where it co-localizes with viral RNA replication complexes, but its precise role in virus replication has not been elucidated. We show here that deletion of the predicted N-terminal amphipathic helix enables overexpression in Escherichia coli of a highly soluble truncated protein, 2C(34–318), that has ATPase and RNA binding activity. ATPase activity was abrogated by point mutations in the Walker A (K116A) and B (D160A) motifs and Motif C (N207A) in the active site. Unliganded 2C(34–318) exhibits concentration-dependent self-association to yield oligomeric forms, the largest of which is tetrameric. Strikingly, in the presence of ATP and RNA, FMDV 2C(34–318) containing the N207A mutation, which binds but does not hydrolyze ATP, was found to oligomerize specifically into hexamers. Visualization of FMDV 2C-ATP-RNA complexes by negative stain electron microscopy revealed hexameric ring structures with 6-fold symmetry that are characteristic of AAA+ ATPases. ATPase assays performed by mixing purified active and inactive 2C(34–318) subunits revealed a coordinated mechanism of ATP hydrolysis. Our results provide new insights into the structure and mechanism of picornavirus 2C proteins that will facilitate new investigations of their roles in infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Trevor R Sweeney
- Biophysics Section, Blackett Laboratory, Division of Cell and Molecular Biology, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
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19
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Sakakibara N, Schwarz FP, Kelman Z. ATP hydrolysis and DNA binding confer thermostability on the MCM helicase. Biochemistry 2010; 48:2330-9. [PMID: 19243117 DOI: 10.1021/bi801921j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The minichromosome maintenance (MCM) helicase is the replicative helicase in archaea. The enzyme utilizes the energy derived from ATP hydrolysis to translocate along one strand of the DNA and unwind the complementary strand. Here, the effect of DNA and ATP on the thermostability of the Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus MCM protein was determined by differential scanning calorimetry. The MCM protein shows a single thermal transition at 67 degrees C. The stability is dramatically altered with the appearance of a second thermal transition up to 10 degrees C higher in the presence of DNA and either ATP or ADP-AlF(4)(-), a transition-state analogue of ATP, bound to MCM. In the presence of DNA and ADP or the nonhydrolyzable ATP analogues ATPgammaS and AMP-PNP, however, only a single thermal transition is observed at temperatures slightly higher than the transition temperature of MCM alone. Thus, the results suggest that ATP hydrolysis proceeds through a transition state that decouples an interaction between the N-terminal DNA binding domain and the C-terminal catalytic domain in the presence of DNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nozomi Sakakibara
- University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnology, Rockville, Maryland 20850, USA
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20
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Abstract
The Mcm2-7 complex serves as the eukaryotic replicative helicase, the molecular motor that both unwinds duplex DNA and powers fork progression during DNA replication. Consistent with its central role in this process, much prior work has illustrated that Mcm2-7 loading and activation are landmark events in the regulation of DNA replication. Unlike any other hexameric helicase, Mcm2-7 is composed of six unique and essential subunits. Although the unusual oligomeric nature of this complex has long hampered biochemical investigations, recent advances with both the eukaryotic as well as the simpler archaeal Mcm complexes provide mechanistic insight into their function. In contrast to better-studied homohexameric helicases, evidence suggests that the six Mcm2-7 complex ATPase active sites are functionally distinct and are likely specialized to accommodate the regulatory constraints of the eukaryotic process.
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21
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Remus D, Beuron F, Tolun G, Griffith JD, Morris EP, Diffley JFX. Concerted loading of Mcm2-7 double hexamers around DNA during DNA replication origin licensing. Cell 2009; 139:719-30. [PMID: 19896182 PMCID: PMC2804858 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2009.10.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 496] [Impact Index Per Article: 33.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2009] [Revised: 08/05/2009] [Accepted: 09/24/2009] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dirk Remus
- Clare Hall Laboratories, Cancer Research UK London Research Institute, South Mimms EN6 3LD, UK
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22
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Abstract
The eukaryotic MCM2-7 complex is recruited onto origins of replication during the G1 phase of the cell cycle and acts as the main helicase at the replication fork during the S phase. Over the last few years a number of structural reports on MCM proteins using both electron microscopy and protein crystallography have been published. The crystal structures of two (almost) full-length archaeal homologs provide the first atomic pictures of a MCM helicase. However one of the structures is at low resolution and the other is of an inactive MCM. Moreover, both proteins are monomeric in the crystal, whereas the activity of the complex is critically dependent on oligomerization. Lower resolution structures derived from electron microscopy studies are therefore crucial to complement the crystallographic analysis and to assemble the multimeric complex that is active in the cell. A critical analysis of all the structural results elucidates the potential conformational changes and dynamic behavior of MCM helicase to provide a first insight into the gamut of molecular configurations adopted during the processes of DNA melting and unwinding.
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23
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Batchelor JD, Sterling HJ, Hong E, Williams ER, Wemmer DE. Receiver domains control the active-state stoichiometry of Aquifex aeolicus sigma54 activator NtrC4, as revealed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. J Mol Biol 2009; 393:634-43. [PMID: 19699748 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2009.08.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2009] [Revised: 08/12/2009] [Accepted: 08/12/2009] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
A common challenge with studies of proteins in vitro is determining which constructs and conditions are most physiologically relevant. sigma(54) activators are proteins that undergo regulated assembly to form an active ATPase ring that enables transcription by sigma(54)-polymerase. Previous studies of AAA(+) ATPase domains from sigma(54) activators have shown that some are heptamers, while others are hexamers. Because active oligomers assemble from off-state dimers, it was thought that even-numbered oligomers should dominate, and that heptamer formation would occur when individual domains of the activators, rather than the intact proteins, were studied. Here we present results from electrospray ionization mass spectrometry experiments characterizing the assembly states of intact NtrC4 (a sigma(54) activator from Aquifex aeolicus, an extreme thermophile), as well as its ATPase domain alone, and regulatory-ATPase and ATPase-DNA binding domain combinations. We show that the full-length and activated regulatory-ATPase proteins form hexamers, whereas the isolated ATPase domain, unactivated regulatory-ATPase, and ATPase-DNA binding domain form heptamers. Activation of the N-terminal regulatory domain is the key factor stabilizing the hexamer form of the ATPase, relative to the heptamer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph D Batchelor
- Graduate Group in Biophysics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
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24
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Samuels M, Gulati G, Shin JH, Opara R, McSweeney E, Sekedat M, Long S, Kelman Z, Jeruzalmi D. A biochemically active MCM-like helicase in Bacillus cereus. Nucleic Acids Res 2009; 37:4441-52. [PMID: 19474351 PMCID: PMC2715239 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkp376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The mini-chromosome maintenance (MCM) proteins serve as the replicative helicases in archaea and eukaryotes. Interestingly, an MCM homolog was identified, by BLAST analysis, within a phage integrated in the bacterium Bacillus cereus (Bc). BcMCM is only related to the AAA region of MCM-helicases; the typical amino-terminus is missing and is replaced by a segment with weak homology to primases. We show that BcMCM displays 3′→5′ helicase and ssDNA-stimulated ATPase activity, properties that arise from its conserved AAA domain. Isolated BcMCM is a monomer in solution but likely forms the functional oligomer in vivo. We found that the BcMCM amino-terminus can bind ssDNA and harbors a zinc atom, both hallmarks of the typical MCM amino-terminus. No BcMCM-catalyzed primase activity could be detected. We propose that the divergent amino-terminus of BcMCM is a paralog of the corresponding region of MCM-helicases. A divergent amino terminus makes BcMCM a useful model for typical MCM-helicases since it accomplishes the same function using an apparently unrelated structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Samuels
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
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25
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Sakakibara N, Kelman LM, Kelman Z. Unwinding the structure and function of the archaeal MCM helicase. Mol Microbiol 2009; 72:286-96. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2009.06663.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
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26
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Jenkinson ER, Costa A, Leech AP, Patwardhan A, Onesti S, Chong JPJ. Mutations in subdomain B of the minichromosome maintenance (MCM) helicase affect DNA binding and modulate conformational transitions. J Biol Chem 2009; 284:5654-61. [PMID: 19116205 PMCID: PMC2683335 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m806973200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Minichromosome maintenance (MCM) proteins are believed to provide the replicative helicase activity in eukaryotes and archaea. The single MCM orthologue from Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus (MthMCM) has been extensively characterized as a model of the eukaryotic heterohexameric MCM complex. MthMCM forms high molecular weight complexes in solution consistent with a dodecamer. Visualization of this complex by electron microscopy suggests that single and double heptameric or hexameric rings can form. We have mutated two arginine residues (Arg-137, Arg-160) in the N-terminal subdomain B of MthMCM based on their apparent potential to form inter-ring hydrogen bonds. Both the single R137A and the double R137A,R160A mutants were characterized by a combination of biophysical, biochemical, and electron microscopy techniques. Biophysical analysis coupled with electron microscopy studies shows that the R137A mutant forms a double heptameric ring, whereas the R137A,R160A protein assembles as a single heptamer. They both show a defect in DNA binding and a concomitant conformational change in subdomain A, with the double mutant displaying significant defects in helicase activity as well. We propose a model in which MCM loading and the subsequent activation of the helicase activity involve a conformational transition that is connected to a DNA binding event.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth R Jenkinson
- Department of Biology and Technology Facility, University of York, York YO10 5YW, United Kingdom
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27
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Methanococcus maripaludis: an archaeon with multiple functional MCM proteins? Biochem Soc Trans 2009; 37:1-6. [PMID: 19143592 DOI: 10.1042/bst0370001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
There are a large number of proteins involved in the control of eukaryotic DNA replication, which act together to ensure DNA is replicated only once every cell cycle. Key proteins involved in the initiation and elongation phases of DNA replication include the MCM (minchromosome maintenance) proteins, MCM2-MCM7, a family of six related proteins believed to act as the replicative helicase. Genome sequencing has revealed that the archaea possess a simplified set of eukaryotic replication homologues. The complexity of the DNA replication machinery in eukaryotes has led to a number of archaeal species being adapted as model organisms for the study of the DNA replication process. Most archaea sequenced to date possess a single MCM homologue that forms a hexameric complex. Recombinant MCMs from several archaea have been used in the biochemical characterization of the protein, revealing that the MCM complex has ATPase, DNA-binding and -unwinding activities. Unusually, the genome of the methanogenic archaeon Methanococcus maripaludis contains four MCM homologues, all of which contain the conserved motifs required for function. The availability of a wide range of genetic tools for the manipulation of M. maripaludis and the relative ease of growth of this organism in the laboratory makes it a good potential model for studying the role of multiple MCMs in DNA replication.
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28
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How is the archaeal MCM helicase assembled at the origin? Possible mechanisms. Biochem Soc Trans 2009; 37:7-11. [PMID: 19143593 DOI: 10.1042/bst0370007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
In order for any organism to replicate its DNA, a helicase must unwind the duplex DNA in front of the replication fork. In archaea, the replicative helicase is the MCM (minichromosome maintenance) helicase. Although much is known about the biochemical properties of the MCM helicase, the mechanism of assembly at the origin of replication is unknown. In the present paper, several possible mechanisms for the loading process are described.
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29
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Bae B, Chen YH, Costa A, Onesti S, Brunzelle JS, Lin Y, Cann IK, Nair SK. Insights into the Architecture of the Replicative Helicase from the Structure of an Archaeal MCM Homolog. Structure 2009; 17:211-22. [DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2008.11.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2008] [Revised: 11/13/2008] [Accepted: 11/13/2008] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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30
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Abstract
Thermoacidophilic crenarchaea of the genus Sulfolobus contain six AAA (ATPase associated with various cellular activities) proteins, including a proteasome-associated ATPase, a Vps4 (vacuolar protein sorting 4) homologue, and two Cdc48 (cell-division cycle 48)-like proteins. The last two AAA proteins are deeply branching divergent members of this family without close relatives outside the Sulfolobales. Both proteins have two nucleotide-binding domains and, unlike other members of the family, they seem to lack folded N-terminal domains. Instead, they contain N-terminal extensions of approx. 50 residues, which are predicted to be unstructured, except for a single transmembrane helix. We have analysed the two proteins, MBA (membrane-bound AAA) 1 and MBA2, by computational and experimental means. They appear to be monophyletic and to share a common ancestor with the Cdc48 clade. Both are membrane-bound and active as nucleotidases upon heterologous expression in Escherichia coli. They form ring complexes, which are stable after solubilization in a mild detergent and whose formation is dependent on the presence of the N-terminal extensions.
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31
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Shin JH, Heo GY, Kelman Z. The Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus MCM helicase is active as a hexameric ring. J Biol Chem 2008; 284:540-546. [PMID: 19001412 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m806803200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The minichromosome maintenance (MCM) complex is thought to function as the replicative helicase in archaea and eukarya. The structure of the single MCM protein homologue from the archaeon Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus is not yet clear, and hexameric, heptameric, octameric, and dodecameric structures, open rings, and filamentous structures have been reported. Using a combination of biochemical and structural analysis, it is shown here that the M. thermautotrophicus MCM helicase is active as a hexamer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jae-Ho Shin
- Division of Applied Biology and Chemistry, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Kyungpook National University, 1370 Sankyuk-Dong, Daegu 702-701, Republic of Korea and the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnology, Rockville, Maryland 20850
| | - Gun-Young Heo
- Division of Applied Biology and Chemistry, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Kyungpook National University, 1370 Sankyuk-Dong, Daegu 702-701, Republic of Korea and the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnology, Rockville, Maryland 20850
| | - Zvi Kelman
- Division of Applied Biology and Chemistry, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Kyungpook National University, 1370 Sankyuk-Dong, Daegu 702-701, Republic of Korea and the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnology, Rockville, Maryland 20850.
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32
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Kanter DM, Bruck I, Kaplan DL. Mcm subunits can assemble into two different active unwinding complexes. J Biol Chem 2008; 283:31172-82. [PMID: 18801730 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m804686200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The replication fork helicase in eukaryotes is a large complex that is composed of Mcm2-7, Cdc45, and GINS. The Mcm2-7 proteins form a heterohexameric ring that hydrolyzes ATP and provide the motor function for this unwinding complex. A comprehensive study of how individual Mcm subunit biochemical activities relate to unwinding function has not been accomplished. We studied the mechanism of the Mcm4-Mcm6-Mcm7 complex, a useful model system because this complex has helicase activity in vitro. We separately purified each of three Mcm subunits until they were each nuclease-free, and we then examined the biochemical properties of different combinations of Mcm subunits. We found that Mcm4 and Mcm7 form an active unwinding assembly. The addition of Mcm6 to Mcm4/Mcm7 results in the formation of an active Mcm4/Mcm6/Mcm7 helicase assembly. The Mcm4-Mcm7 complex forms a ringed-shaped hexamer that unwinds DNA with 3' to 5' polarity by a steric exclusion mechanism, similar to Mcm4/Mcm6/Mcm7. The Mcm4-Mcm7 complex has a high level of ATPase activity that is further stimulated by DNA. The ability of different Mcm mixtures to form rings or exhibit DNA stimulation of ATPase activity correlates with the ability of these complexes to unwind DNA. The Mcm4/Mcm7 and Mcm4/Mcm6/Mcm7 assemblies can open to load onto circular DNA to initiate unwinding. We conclude that the Mcm subunits are surprisingly flexible and dynamic in their ability to interact with one another to form active unwinding complexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diane M Kanter
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37235, USA
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33
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Duderstadt KE, Berger JM. AAA+ ATPases in the initiation of DNA replication. Crit Rev Biochem Mol Biol 2008; 43:163-87. [PMID: 18568846 DOI: 10.1080/10409230802058296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
All cellular organisms and many viruses rely on large, multi-subunit molecular machines, termed replisomes, to ensure that genetic material is accurately duplicated for transmission from one generation to the next. Replisome assembly is facilitated by dedicated initiator proteins, which serve to both recognize replication origins and recruit requisite replisomal components to the DNA in a cell-cycle coordinated manner. Exactly how imitators accomplish this task, and the extent to which initiator mechanisms are conserved among different organisms have remained outstanding issues. Recent structural and biochemical findings have revealed that all cellular initiators, as well as the initiators of certain classes of double-stranded DNA viruses, possess a common adenine nucleotide-binding fold belonging to the ATPases Associated with various cellular Activities (AAA+) family. This review focuses on how the AAA+ domain has been recruited and adapted to control the initiation of DNA replication, and how the use of this ATPase module underlies a common set of initiator assembly states and functions. How biochemical and structural properties correlate with initiator activity, and how species-specific modifications give rise to unique initiator functions, are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karl E Duderstadt
- Department Molecular and Cell Biology and Biophysics Graduate Group, California Institute for Quantitative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-3220, USA.
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34
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Cryo-electron microscopy reveals a novel DNA-binding site on the MCM helicase. EMBO J 2008; 27:2250-8. [PMID: 18650940 DOI: 10.1038/emboj.2008.135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2008] [Accepted: 06/24/2008] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The eukaryotic MCM2-7 complex is recruited at origins of replication during the G1 phase and acts as the main helicase at the replication fork during the S phase of the cell cycle. To characterize the interplay between the MCM helicase and DNA prior to the melting of the double helix, we determined the structure of an archaeal MCM orthologue bound to a 5.6-kb double-stranded DNA segment, using cryo-electron microscopy. DNA wraps around the N-terminal face of a single hexameric ring. This interaction requires a conformational change within the outer belt of the MCM N-terminal domain, exposing a previously unrecognized helix-turn-helix DNA-binding motif. Our findings provide novel insights into the role of the MCM complex during the initiation step of DNA replication.
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35
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Costa A, Patwardhan A. A novel mirror-symmetry analysis approach for the study of macromolecular assemblies imaged by electron microscopy. J Mol Biol 2008; 378:273-83. [PMID: 18353361 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2008.02.054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2007] [Accepted: 02/26/2008] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Multivariate statistical symmetry analysis is widely employed in single-particle electron-microscopy studies for the detection of symmetry components within a set of noisy two-dimensional images. So far, this technique has been used to retrieve information from the analysis of end-on view oriented particles only. Here, we propose a method to detect symmetry components from side- and tilted-view oriented particles. This method is validated using a number of in silico generated as well as real datasets, can be used to analyze stoichiometrically heterogeneous datasets, and is useful for separating particle datasets with respect to their symmetry components. Additionally, translational components in lock-washer ring configurations can be detected. Most relevantly, this method represents a powerful tool for the characterisation of distinct symmetry components within multi-layered protein assemblies, and any putative symmetry mismatch between layers. Such configurations have often been postulated, though rarely observed directly, and are thought to have a crucial role in conferring dynamicity to molecular machineries like nucleic acid packaging motors, ClpAP/ClpXP proteases, flagellar motors and the F1/F0 ATPase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Costa
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London SW7 2AZ, UK
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36
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Abstract
The MCM2-MCM7 (minichromosome maintenance 2-7) complex is involved both in the initiation and the elongation step of eukaryotic DNA replication and is believed to be the replicative helicase. Whereas the mechanism of DNA unwinding at the replication fork has been extensively investigated, the role of the MCM2-MCM7 complex during initiation has not yet been characterized by biochemical studies. Here we summarize the in vivo evidence which supports a role for the MCM complex in origin melting. In addition, we present an overview of the mechanism of action of a number of AAA+ (ATPase associated with various cellular activities) initiators and hexameric helicases, which can be used in turn as models for the steps of recognition, duplex melting, loading and nucleic acid translocation of the MCM helicase.
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37
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Jiang PX, Feng Y, He ZG. Functional differentiation and cooperative interaction between two eukaryote-like archaeal Orc1/Cdc6 proteins on the replication origin. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2007; 364:945-51. [PMID: 17964284 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2007.10.099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2007] [Accepted: 10/17/2007] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The DNA replication apparatus of archaea represents a core version of that in eukaryotes. Archaeal Orc1/Cdc6s can be an integral component in the replication machineries cooperatively regulating DNA replication. We investigated the DNA-binding activities of two eukaryote-like Orc1/Cdc6 proteins (SsoCdc6-1 and -2) and interactions between them on the different structural duplex DNA substrates derived from oriC1 of Sulfolobus solfataricus. The results showed that two Orc1/Cdc6 proteins stimulated mutual DNA-binding activities at lower concentrations and formed bigger SsoCdc6-1/SsoCdc6-2/DNA complex at higher concentrations. Furthermore, SsoCdc6-2 stimulated the DNA-binding activity of SsoMCM and demonstrated a high affinity to the 5-forked DNA. In contrast, SsoCdc6-1 inhibited the binding of SsoMCM and demonstrated better affinity to the sequence-specific blunt DNA substrate. Finally, we found that the two proteins physically interacted with each other and with SsoMCM. Thus, the two Orc1/Cdc6 proteins were functionally different, but they may keep the coordinated interaction on the replication origin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pei-Xia Jiang
- Center for Proteomics Research, National Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
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38
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Tucker PA, Sallai L. The AAA+ superfamily--a myriad of motions. Curr Opin Struct Biol 2007; 17:641-52. [PMID: 18023171 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2007.09.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2007] [Revised: 09/13/2007] [Accepted: 09/28/2007] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
ATPases associated with various cellular activities are aptly named. They are the engines that drive processes such as protein degradation, protein refolding, sigma(54)-dependent transcriptional activation, DNA helicase activity, DNA replication initiation, and cellular cargo transport. Recent structural information derived from biochemical studies, electron microscopy (EM), small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and X-ray crystallography are beginning to show how, at an atomic level, some of these systems use the conformational changes generated during the ATP hydrolysis cycle. Structural highlights in the processes mentioned are provided by work on ClpX and p97, ClpB, PspF and NtrC, RuvBL1, DnaA and the papillomavirus E1 initiator protein and dynein. The results emphasize the versatility of the AAA+ core domain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul A Tucker
- EMBL Hamburg Outstation, c/o DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D22603 Hamburg, Germany.
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39
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Yoshimochi T, Fujikane R, Kawanami M, Matsunaga F, Ishino Y. The GINS complex from Pyrococcus furiosus stimulates the MCM helicase activity. J Biol Chem 2007; 283:1601-1609. [PMID: 17986447 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m707654200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Pyrococcus furiosus, a hyperthermophilic Archaea, has homologs of the eukaryotic MCM (mini-chromosome maintenance) helicase and GINS complex. The MCM and GINS proteins are both essential factors to initiate DNA replication in eukaryotic cells. Many biochemical characterizations of the replication-related proteins have been reported, but it has not been proved that the homologs of each protein are also essential for replication in archaeal cells. Here, we demonstrated that the P. furiosus GINS complex interacts with P. furiosus MCM. A chromatin immunoprecipitation assay revealed that the GINS complex is detected preferentially at the oriC region on Pyrococcus chromosomal DNA during the exponential growth phase but not in the stationary phase. Furthermore, the GINS complex stimulates both the ATPase and DNA helicase activities of MCM in vitro. These results strongly suggest that the archaeal GINS is involved in both the initiation and elongation processes of DNA replication in P. furiosus, as observed in eukaryotic cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takehiro Yoshimochi
- Department of Genetic Resources Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, 6-10-1 Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan
| | - Ryosuke Fujikane
- Department of Genetic Resources Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, 6-10-1 Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan
| | - Miyuki Kawanami
- Department of Genetic Resources Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, 6-10-1 Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan
| | - Fujihiko Matsunaga
- Department of Genetic Resources Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, 6-10-1 Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan
| | - Yoshizumi Ishino
- Department of Genetic Resources Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, 6-10-1 Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan; BIRD-Japan Science and Technology Agency, 6-10-1 Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan.
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40
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Bochman ML, Schwacha A. Differences in the single-stranded DNA binding activities of MCM2-7 and MCM467: MCM2 and MCM5 define a slow ATP-dependent step. J Biol Chem 2007; 282:33795-33804. [PMID: 17895243 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m703824200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The MCM2-7 complex, a hexamer containing six distinct and essential subunits, is postulated to be the eukaryotic replicative DNA helicase. Although all six subunits function at the replication fork, only a specific subcomplex consisting of the MCM4, 6, and 7 subunits (MCM467) and not the MCM2-7 complex exhibits DNA helicase activity in vitro. To understand why MCM2-7 lacks helicase activity and to address the possible function of the MCM2, 3, and 5 subunits, we have compared the biochemical properties of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae MCM2-7 and MCM467 complexes. We demonstrate that both complexes are toroidal and possess a similar ATP-dependent single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) binding activity, indicating that the lack of helicase activity by MCM2-7 is not due to ineffective ssDNA binding. We identify two important differences between them. MCM467 binds dsDNA better than MCM2-7. In addition, we find that the rate of MCM2-7/ssDNA association is slow compared with MCM467; the association rate can be dramatically increased either by preincubation with ATP or by inclusion of mutations that ablate the MCM2/5 active site. We propose that the DNA binding differences between MCM2-7 and MCM467 correspond to a conformational change at the MCM2/5 active site with putative regulatory significance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew L Bochman
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260
| | - Anthony Schwacha
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260.
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41
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Jiang PX, Wang J, Feng Y, He ZG. Divergent functions of multiple eukaryote-like Orc1/Cdc6 proteins on modulating the loading of the MCM helicase onto the origins of the hyperthermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus P2. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2007; 361:651-8. [PMID: 17673179 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2007.07.073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2007] [Accepted: 07/13/2007] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The Cdc6 protein has been suggested as a loader for the eukaryotic MCM helicase. Archaeal replication machinery represents a core version of that in eukaryotes. In the current work, three eukaryotic Orc1/Cdc6 homologs (SsoCdc6-1, -2, and -3) from crenarchaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus were shown to have totally different effects on the interactions with SsoMCM helicase. SsoCdc6-2 stimulates the binding of the SsoMCM onto the origin DNA, but SsoCdc6-1 and SsoCdc6-3 significantly inhibit the loading activities, and these inhibitive effects can not be reversed by the stimulation of SsoCdc6-2. Using pull-down assays, we showed that three SsoCdc6 proteins interacted physically with the SsoMCM. Furthermore, the C-terminal domains of SsoCdc6 proteins were shown to physically and functionally affect the interactions with SsoMCM. This is the first report on the divergent functions of multiple eukaryote-like Orc1/Cdc6 proteins on regulating the loading of the MCM helicase onto the origins in the archaeon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pei-Xia Jiang
- National Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Center for Proteomics Research, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
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42
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Abstract
The archaeal DNA replication machinery bears striking similarity to that of eukaryotes and is clearly distinct from the bacterial apparatus. In recent years, considerable advances have been made in understanding the biochemistry of the archaeal replication proteins. Furthermore, a number of structures have now been obtained for individual components and higher-order assemblies of archaeal replication factors, yielding important insights into the mechanisms of DNA replication in both archaea and eukaryotes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth R Barry
- MRC Cancer Cell Unit, Hutchison MRC Research Centre, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2XZ, United Kingdom
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Costa A, Pape T, van Heel M, Brick P, Patwardhan A, Onesti S. Structural basis of the Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus MCM helicase activity. Nucleic Acids Res 2006; 34:5829-38. [PMID: 17062628 PMCID: PMC1635305 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkl708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The MCM complex from the archaeon Methanother-mobacter thermautotrophicus is a model for the eukaryotic MCM2-7 helicase. We present electron-microscopy single-particle reconstructions of a DNA treated M.thermautotrophicus MCM sample and a ADP.AlF(x) treated sample, respectively assembling as double hexamers and double heptamers. The electron-density maps display an unexpected asymmetry between the two rings, suggesting that large conformational changes can occur within the complex. The structure of the MCM N-terminal domain, as well as the AAA+ and the C-terminal HTH dom-ains of ZraR can be fitted into the reconstructions. Distinct configurations can be modelled for the AAA+ and the HTH domains, suggesting the nature of the conformational change within the complex. The pre-sensor 1 and the helix 2 insertions, important for the activity, can be located pointing towards the centre of the channel in the presence of DNA. We propose a mechanistic model for the helicase activity, based on a ligand-controlled rotation of the AAA+ subunits.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tillmann Pape
- Division of Molecular Biosciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences,Imperial CollegeLondon SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Marin van Heel
- Division of Molecular Biosciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences,Imperial CollegeLondon SW7 2AZ, UK
| | | | - Ardan Patwardhan
- Division of Molecular Biosciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences,Imperial CollegeLondon SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Silvia Onesti
- To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +44 20 7594 7647; Fax: +44 20 75890191;
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