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Pérez-Arnaiz P, Dattani A, Smith V, Allers T. Haloferax volcanii-a model archaeon for studying DNA replication and repair. Open Biol 2020; 10:200293. [PMID: 33259746 PMCID: PMC7776575 DOI: 10.1098/rsob.200293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2020] [Accepted: 11/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The tree of life shows the relationship between all organisms based on their common ancestry. Until 1977, it comprised two major branches: prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Work by Carl Woese and other microbiologists led to the recategorization of prokaryotes and the proposal of three primary domains: Eukarya, Bacteria and Archaea. Microbiological, genetic and biochemical techniques were then needed to study the third domain of life. Haloferax volcanii, a halophilic species belonging to the phylum Euryarchaeota, has provided many useful tools to study Archaea, including easy culturing methods, genetic manipulation and phenotypic screening. This review will focus on DNA replication and DNA repair pathways in H. volcanii, how this work has advanced our knowledge of archaeal cellular biology, and how it may deepen our understanding of bacterial and eukaryotic processes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Thorsten Allers
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham, UK
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2
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Abstract
Replicative DNA helicases are essential cellular enzymes that unwind duplex DNA in front of the replication fork during chromosomal DNA replication. Replicative helicases were discovered, beginning in the 1970s, in bacteria, bacteriophages, viruses, and eukarya, and, in the mid-1990s, in archaea. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the first report on the archaeal replicative helicase, the minichromosome maintenance (MCM) protein. This minireview summarizes 2 decades of work on the archaeal MCM.
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Cannone G, Visentin S, Palud A, Henneke G, Spagnolo L. Structure of an octameric form of the minichromosome maintenance protein from the archaeon Pyrococcus abyssi. Sci Rep 2017; 7:42019. [PMID: 28176822 PMCID: PMC5296750 DOI: 10.1038/srep42019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2016] [Accepted: 01/05/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Cell division is a complex process that requires precise duplication of genetic material. Duplication is concerted by replisomes. The Minichromosome Maintenance (MCM) replicative helicase is a crucial component of replisomes. Eukaryotic and archaeal MCM proteins are highly conserved. In fact, archaeal MCMs are powerful tools for elucidating essential features of MCM function. However, while eukaryotic MCM2-7 is a heterocomplex made of different polypeptide chains, the MCM complexes of many Archaea form homohexamers from a single gene product. Moreover, some archaeal MCMs are polymorphic, and both hexameric and heptameric architectures have been reported for the same polypeptide. Here, we present the structure of the archaeal MCM helicase from Pyrococcus abyssi in its single octameric ring assembly. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a full-length octameric MCM helicase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Cannone
- Institute of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, University of Glasgow, University Avenue, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
- School of Biological Sciences and Max Born Crescent, Edinburgh EH9 3JR, UK
- Centre for Science at extreme conditions, University of Edinburgh, Max Born Crescent, Edinburgh EH9 3JR, UK
| | - Silvia Visentin
- Institute of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, University of Glasgow, University Avenue, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
- School of Biological Sciences and Max Born Crescent, Edinburgh EH9 3JR, UK
- ISIS neutron source, Science and Technologies Research Council, Rutherford Appleton Laboratories, Harwell, OX11 0QX United Kingdom
| | - Adeline Palud
- IFREMER, Laboratoire de Microbiologie des Environnements Extrêmes, UMR 6197, ZI de la pointe du diable CS 10070 29280 Plouzané, France
- Université de Bretagne Occidentale, Laboratoire de Microbiologie des Environnements Extrêmes, UMR6197, rue Dumont d’Urville 29280 Plouzané, France
- CNRS, Laboratoire de Microbiologie des Environnements Extrêmes, UMR6197, rue Dumont d’Urville 29280 Plouzané, France
| | - Ghislaine Henneke
- IFREMER, Laboratoire de Microbiologie des Environnements Extrêmes, UMR 6197, ZI de la pointe du diable CS 10070 29280 Plouzané, France
- Université de Bretagne Occidentale, Laboratoire de Microbiologie des Environnements Extrêmes, UMR6197, rue Dumont d’Urville 29280 Plouzané, France
- CNRS, Laboratoire de Microbiologie des Environnements Extrêmes, UMR6197, rue Dumont d’Urville 29280 Plouzané, France
| | - Laura Spagnolo
- Institute of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, University of Glasgow, University Avenue, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
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Abstract
DNA replication is essential for all life forms. Although the process is fundamentally conserved in the three domains of life, bioinformatic, biochemical, structural, and genetic studies have demonstrated that the process and the proteins involved in archaeal DNA replication are more similar to those in eukaryal DNA replication than in bacterial DNA replication, but have some archaeal-specific features. The archaeal replication system, however, is not monolithic, and there are some differences in the replication process between different species. In this review, the current knowledge of the mechanisms governing DNA replication in Archaea is summarized. The general features of the replication process as well as some of the differences are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lori M Kelman
- Program in Biotechnology, Montgomery College, Germantown, Maryland 20876;
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5
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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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6
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Krueger S, Shin JH, Curtis JE, Rubinson KA, Kelman Z. The solution structure of full-length dodecameric MCM by SANS and molecular modeling. Proteins 2014; 82:2364-74. [DOI: 10.1002/prot.24598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2014] [Revised: 04/24/2014] [Accepted: 04/29/2014] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Susan Krueger
- NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology; Gaithersburg Maryland 20899
| | - Jae-Ho Shin
- Division of Applied Biology and Chemistry, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; Kyungpook National University; Daegu Republic of Korea
| | - Joseph E. Curtis
- NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology; Gaithersburg Maryland 20899
| | - Kenneth A. Rubinson
- NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology; Gaithersburg Maryland 20899
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Wright State University; Dayton Ohio 45435
| | - Zvi Kelman
- Biomolecular Measurement Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology; Gaithersburg Maryland 20899
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research; Rockville Maryland 20850
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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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Bell SD, Botchan MR. The minichromosome maintenance replicative helicase. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol 2013; 5:a012807. [PMID: 23881943 DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a012807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The eukaryotic replicative helicase, the minichromosome maintenance (MCM) complex, is composed of six distinct, but related, subunits MCM(2-7). The relationship between the sequences of the subunits indicates that they are derived from a common ancestor and indeed, present-day archaea possess a homohexameric MCM. Recent progress in the biochemical and structural studies of both eukaryal and archaeal MCM complexes are beginning to shed light on the mechanisms of action of this key component of the replisome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen D Bell
- Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Department, Biology Department, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405
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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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Suhasini AN, Sommers JA, Yu S, Wu Y, Xu T, Kelman Z, Kaplan DL, Brosh RM. DNA repair and replication fork helicases are differentially affected by alkyl phosphotriester lesion. J Biol Chem 2012; 287:19188-98. [PMID: 22500020 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m112.352757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
DNA helicases are directly responsible for catalytically unwinding duplex DNA in an ATP-dependent and directionally specific manner and play essential roles in cellular nucleic acid metabolism. It has been conventionally thought that DNA helicases are inhibited by bulky covalent DNA adducts in a strand-specific manner. However, the effects of highly stable alkyl phosphotriester (PTE) lesions that are induced by chemical mutagens and refractory to DNA repair have not been previously studied for their effects on helicases. In this study, DNA repair and replication helicases were examined for unwinding a forked duplex DNA substrate harboring a single isopropyl PTE specifically positioned in the helicase-translocating or -nontranslocating strand within the double-stranded region. A comparison of SF2 helicases (RecQ, RECQ1, WRN, BLM, FANCJ, and ChlR1) with a SF1 DNA repair helicase (UvrD) and two replicative helicases (MCM and DnaB) demonstrates unique differences in the effect of the PTE on the DNA unwinding reactions catalyzed by these enzymes. All of the SF2 helicases tested were inhibited by the PTE lesion, whereas UvrD and the replication fork helicases were fully tolerant of the isopropyl backbone modification, irrespective of strand. Sequestration studies demonstrated that RECQ1 helicase was trapped by the PTE lesion only when it resided in the helicase-translocating strand. Our results are discussed in light of the current models for DNA unwinding by helicases that are likely to encounter sugar phosphate backbone damage during biological DNA transactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Avvaru N Suhasini
- Laboratory of Molecular Gerontology, NIA, National Institutes of Health, NIH Biomedical Research Center, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, USA
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11
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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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12
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Graham BW, Schauer GD, Leuba SH, Trakselis MA. Steric exclusion and wrapping of the excluded DNA strand occurs along discrete external binding paths during MCM helicase unwinding. Nucleic Acids Res 2011; 39:6585-95. [PMID: 21576224 PMCID: PMC3159478 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkr345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2011] [Revised: 04/25/2011] [Accepted: 04/26/2011] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The minichromosome maintenance (MCM) helicase complex is essential for the initiation and elongation of DNA replication in both the eukaryotic and archaeal domains. The archaeal homohexameric MCM helicase from Sulfolobus solfataricus serves as a model for understanding mechanisms of DNA unwinding. In this report, the displaced 5'-tail is shown to provide stability to the MCM complex on DNA and contribute to unwinding. Mutations in a positively charged patch on the exterior surface of the MCM hexamer destabilize this interaction, alter the path of the displaced 5'-tail DNA and reduce unwinding. DNA footprinting and single-molecule fluorescence experiments support a previously unrecognized wrapping of the 5'-tail. This mode of hexameric helicase DNA unwinding is termed the steric exclusion and wrapping (SEW) model, where the 3'-tail is encircled by the helicase while the displaced 5'-tail wraps around defined paths on the exterior of the helicase. The novel wrapping mechanism stabilizes the MCM complex in a positive unwinding mode, protects the displaced single-stranded DNA tail and prevents reannealing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian W. Graham
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260 and Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Grant D. Schauer
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260 and Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Sanford H. Leuba
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260 and Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Michael A. Trakselis
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260 and Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
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Mutational analysis of conserved aspartic acid residues in the Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus MCM helicase. Extremophiles 2011; 15:245-52. [PMID: 21274582 DOI: 10.1007/s00792-010-0352-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2010] [Accepted: 12/22/2010] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Minichromosome maintenance (MCM) helicases are thought to function as the replicative helicases in archaea and eukarya, unwinding the duplex DNA in the front of the replication fork. The archaeal MCM helicase can be divided into three parts, the N-terminal, catalytic, and C-terminal regions. The N-terminal part of the protein is divided into three domains, A, B, and C, and was shown to be involved in protein multimerization and binding to single- and double-stranded DNA. Two Asp residues found in domain C are conserved among MCM proteins from different archaea. These residues are located in a loop at the interface with domain A. Mutations of these residues in the Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus MCM protein, Asp202 and Asp203, to Asn result in a significant reduction in the ability of the enzyme to bind DNA and in lower thermal stability. However, the mutant proteins retained helicase and ATPase activities. Further investigation of the DNA binding revealed that the presence of ATP rescues the DNA binding deficiencies by these mutant proteins. Possible roles of these conserved residues in MCM function are discussed.
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Different residues on the surface of the Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus MCM helicase interact with single- and double-stranded DNA. ARCHAEA-AN INTERNATIONAL MICROBIOLOGICAL JOURNAL 2010; 2010:505693. [PMID: 21151660 PMCID: PMC2997501 DOI: 10.1155/2010/505693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2010] [Accepted: 10/16/2010] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The minichromosome maintenance (MCM) complex is thought to function as the replicative helicase in archaea, separating the two strands of chromosomal DNA during replication. The catalytic activity resides within the C-terminal region of the MCM protein, while the N-terminal portion plays an important role in DNA binding and protein multimerization. An alignment of MCM homologues from several archaeal species revealed a number of conserved amino acids. Here several of the conserved residues located on the surface of the helicase have been mutated and their roles in MCM functions determined. It was found that some mutations result in increased affinity for ssDNA while the affinity for dsDNA is decreased. Other mutants exhibit the opposite effect. Thus, the data suggest that these conserved surface residues may participate in MCM-DNA interactions.
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The effects of oligomerization on Saccharomyces cerevisiae Mcm4/6/7 function. BMC BIOCHEMISTRY 2010; 11:37. [PMID: 20860810 PMCID: PMC2949612 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2091-11-37] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2010] [Accepted: 09/22/2010] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Minichromosome maintenance proteins (Mcm) 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are related by sequence and form a variety of complexes that unwind DNA, including Mcm4/6/7. A Mcm4/6/7 trimer forms one half of the Mcm2-7 hexameric ring and can be thought of as the catalytic core of Mcm2-7, the replicative helicase in eukaryotic cells. Oligomeric analysis of Mcm4/6/7 suggests that it forms a hexamer containing two Mcm4/6/7 trimers, however, under certain conditions trimeric Mcm4/6/7 has also been observed. The functional significance of the different Mcm4/6/7 oligomeric states has not been assessed. The results of such an assessment would have implications for studies of both Mcm4/6/7 and Mcm2-7. RESULTS Here, we show that Saccharomyces cerevisiae Mcm4/6/7 reconstituted from individual subunits exists in an equilibrium of oligomeric forms in which smaller oligomers predominate in the absence of ATP. In addition, we found that ATP, which is required for Mcm4/6/7 activity, shifts the equilibrium towards larger oligomers, likely hexamers of Mcm4/6/7. ATPγS and to a lesser extent ADP also shift the equilibrium towards hexamers. Study of Mcm4/6/7 complexes containing mutations that interfere with the formation of inter-subunit ATP sites (arginine finger mutants) indicates that full activity of Mcm4/6/7 requires all of its ATP sites, which are formed in a hexamer and not a trimer. In keeping with this observation, Mcm4/6/7 binds DNA as a hexamer. CONCLUSIONS The minimal functional unit of Mcm4/6/7 is a hexamer. One of the roles of ATP binding by Mcm4/6/7 may be to stabilize formation of hexamers.
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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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Chia N, Cann I, Olsen GJ. Evolution of DNA replication protein complexes in eukaryotes and Archaea. PLoS One 2010; 5:e10866. [PMID: 20532250 PMCID: PMC2880001 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0010866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2010] [Accepted: 05/03/2010] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The replication of DNA in Archaea and eukaryotes requires several ancillary complexes, including proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), replication factor C (RFC), and the minichromosome maintenance (MCM) complex. Bacterial DNA replication utilizes comparable proteins, but these are distantly related phylogenetically to their archaeal and eukaryotic counterparts at best. Methodology/Principal Findings While the structures of each of the complexes do not differ significantly between the archaeal and eukaryotic versions thereof, the evolutionary dynamic in the two cases does. The number of subunits in each complex is constant across all taxa. However, they vary subtly with regard to composition. In some taxa the subunits are all identical in sequence, while in others some are homologous rather than identical. In the case of eukaryotes, there is no phylogenetic variation in the makeup of each complex—all appear to derive from a common eukaryotic ancestor. This is not the case in Archaea, where the relationship between the subunits within each complex varies taxon-to-taxon. We have performed a detailed phylogenetic analysis of these relationships in order to better understand the gene duplications and divergences that gave rise to the homologous subunits in Archaea. Conclusion/Significance This domain level difference in evolution suggests that different forces have driven the evolution of DNA replication proteins in each of these two domains. In addition, the phylogenies of all three gene families support the distinctiveness of the proposed archaeal phylum Thaumarchaeota.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas Chia
- Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA.
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A superfamily 3 DNA helicase encoded by plasmid pSSVi from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus unwinds DNA as a higher-order oligomer and interacts with host primase. J Bacteriol 2010; 192:1853-64. [PMID: 20118258 DOI: 10.1128/jb.01300-09] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Replication proteins encoded by nonconjugative plasmids from the hyperthermophilic archaea of the order Sulfolobales show great diversity in amino acid sequence. We have biochemically characterized ORF735, a replication protein from pSSVi, an integrative nonconjugative plasmid from Sulfolobus solfataricus P2. We show that ORF735 is a DNA helicase of superfamily 3. It unwound double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) in a 3'-to-5' direction in the presence of ATP over a wide range of temperatures, from 37 degrees C to 75 degrees C, and possessed DNA-stimulated ATPase activity. ORF735 existed in solution as a salt-stable dimer and was capable of assembling into a salt-sensitive oligomer that was significantly larger than a hexamer in the presence of a divalent cation (Mg(2+)) and an adenine nucleotide (ATP, dATP, or ADP) or its analog (ATPgammaS or AMPPNP). Both N-terminal and C-terminal portions of ORF735 (87 and 160 amino acid residues, respectively, in size) were required for protein dimerization but dispensable for the formation of the higher-order oligomer. The protein unwound DNA only as a large oligomer. Yeast two-hybrid and coimmunoprecipitation assays revealed that ORF735 interacted with the noncatalytic subunit of host primase. These findings provide clues to the functional role of ORF735 in pSSVi DNA replication.
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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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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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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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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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