Identification of DNA-binding proteins that recognize a conserved type I repeat sequence in the replication origin region of Tetrahymena rDNA

Non-coding RNAs: new players in the field of eukaryotic DNA replication

The machinery required for the replication of eukaryotic chromosomal DNA is made up of proteins whose function, structure and main interaction partners are evolutionarily conserved. Several new cases have been reported recently, however, in which non-coding RNAs play additional and specialised roles in the initiation of eukaryotic DNA replication in different classes of organisms. These non-coding RNAs include Y RNAs in vertebrate somatic cells, 26T RNA in somatic macronuclei of the ciliate Tetrahymena, and G-rich RNA in the Epstein-Barr DNA tumour virus and its human host cells. Here, I will give an overview of the experimental evidence in favour of roles for these non-coding RNAs in the regulation of eukaryotic DNA replication, and compare and contrast their biosynthesis and mechanisms of action.

TIF1 Represses rDNA replication initiation, but promotes normal S phase progression and chromosome transmission in Tetrahymena

The non-ORC protein, TIF1, recognizes sequences in the Tetrahymena thermophila ribosomal DNA (rDNA) minichromosome that are required for origin activation. We show here that TIF1 represses rDNA origin firing, but is required for proper macronuclear S phase progression and division. TIF1 mutants exhibit an elongated macronuclear S phase and diminished rate of DNA replication. Despite this, replication of the rDNA minichromosome initiates precociously. Because rDNA copy number is unaffected in the polyploid macronucleus, mechanisms that prevent reinitiation appear intact. Although mutants exit macronuclear S with a wild-type DNA content, division of the amitotic macronucleus is both delayed and abnormal. Nuclear defects are also observed in the diploid mitotic micronucleus, as TIF1 mutants lose a significant fraction of their micronuclear DNA. Hence, TIF1 is required for the propagation and subsequent transmission of germline chromosomes. The broad phenotypes associated with a TIF1-deficiency suggest that this origin binding protein is required globally for the proper execution and/or monitoring of key chromosomal events during S phase and possibly at later stages of the cell cycle. We propose that micro- and macronuclear defects result from exiting the respective nuclear S phases with physically compromised chromosomes.

Developmental gene amplification and origin regulation

Developmentally regulated gene amplification serves to increase the number of templates for transcription, yielding greatly increased protein and/or RNA product for gene(s) at the amplified loci. It is observed with genes that are very actively transcribed and during narrow windows of developmental time where copious amounts of those particular gene products are required. Amplification results from repeated firing of origins at a few genomic loci, while the rest of the genome either does not replicate, or replicates to a lesser extent. As such, amplification is a striking exception to the once-and-only-once rule of DNA replication and may be informative as to that mechanism. Drosophila amplifies eggshell (chorion) genes in the follicle cells of the ovary to allow for rapid eggshell synthesis. Sciara amplifies multiple genes in larval salivary gland cells that encode proteins secreted in the saliva for the pupal case. Finally, Tetrahymena amplifies its rRNA genes several thousand-fold in the creation of the transcriptionally active macronucleus. Due to the ease of molecular and genetic analysis with these systems, the study of origin regulation has advanced rapidly. Comparisons reveal an evolutionarily conserved trans-regulatory apparatus and a similar organization of sequence-specific cis-regulatory replicator and origin elements. The studies indicate a regulatory role for chromatin structure and transcriptionally active genes near the origins.

Characterization of a novel origin recognition complex-like complex: implications for DNA recognition, cell cycle control, and locus-specific gene amplification

The origin recognition complex (ORC) plays a central role in eukaryotic DNA replication. Here we describe a unique ORC-like complex in Tetrahymena thermophila, TIF4, which bound in an ATP-dependent manner to sequences required for cell cycle-controlled replication and gene amplification (ribosomal DNA [rDNA] type I elements). TIF4's mode of DNA recognition was distinct from that of other characterized ORCs, as it bound exclusively to single-stranded DNA. In contrast to yeast ORCs, TIF4 DNA binding activity was cell cycle regulated and peaked during S phase, coincident with the redistribution of the Orc2-related subunit, p69, from the cytoplasm to the macronucleus. Origin-binding activity and nuclear p69 immunoreactivity were further regulated during development, where they distinguished replicating from nonreplicating nuclei. Both activities were lost from germ line micronuclei following the programmed arrest of micronuclear replication. Replicating macronuclei stained with Orc2 antibodies throughout development in wild-type cells but failed to do so in the amplification-defective rmm11 mutant. Collectively, these findings indicate that the regulation of TIF4 is intimately tied to the cell cycle and developmentally programmed replication cycles. They further implicate TIF4 in rDNA gene amplification. As type I elements interact with other sequence-specific single-strand breaks (in vitro and in vivo), the dynamic interplay of Orc-like (TIF4) and non-ORC-like proteins with this replication determinant may provide a novel mechanism for regulation.

Cloning and biochemical analysis of the tetrahymena origin binding protein TIF1: competitive DNA binding in vitro and in vivo to critical rDNA replication determinants

Cis-acting type I elements regulate the initiation of DNA replication, replication fork movement, and transcription of the Tetrahymena thermophila rDNA minichromosome and are required for cell cycle-controlled replication and developmentally programmed gene amplification. Previous studies identified three in vitro single-stranded type I element binding activities that were proposed to play distinct roles in replication control. Here we describe the cloning of one of these genes, TIF1, and we provide evidence for its association with type I elements in vivo. Furthermore, we show that TIF1 interacts (in vitro and in vivo) with pause site elements (PSE), which co-localize with replication initiation and fork arrest sites, and are shown to be essential. The in vivo accessibility of PSE and type I elements to potassium permanganate suggests that origin regions are frequently unwound in native chromatin. TIF1 contains sequence similarity to the Solanum tuberosum single strand-specific transcription factor, p24, and a related Arabidopsis protein. Antisense inhibition studies suggest that TIF1 competes with other proteins for PSE and type I element binding. TIF1 displays a marked strand bias in vivo, discriminating between origin- and promoter-proximal type I elements. We propose that this bias selectively modulates the binding of a different subset of proteins to the respective regulatory elements.

Three different proteins recognize a multifunctional determinant that controls replication initiation, fork arrest and transcription in Tetrahymena

Type I elements regulate the initiation of DNA replication, elongation of replication forks and transcription of the Tetrahymena thermophila rDNA minichromosome. Previous studies identified a 24 kDa protein, ssA-TIBF, which binds the A-rich strand of type I elements. Here we describe two additional type I element binding activities (native mol. wt approximately 65 and approximately 250 kDa) that interact with DNA via previously unidentified 32 and 110 kDa polypeptides. The 65 kDa activity was purified to homogeneity and consists of a homodimer of a 32 kDa polypeptide. In contrast to the other type I element binding factors, the 65 kDa activity partitions preferentially to the nuclear fraction during isolation. Levels of the 65 kDa activity increase dramatically in starved cells, raising the possibility that it might negatively regulate replication or transcription. By comparison, the other two binding activities were elevated slightly during macronuclear development, when the rDNA was undergoing DNA replication. Previous studies indicate that the initiation of rDNA replication is regulated by long range interactions between dispersed type I elements. Competitive DNA binding or cooperative protein-protein interactions between the factors described here may play a regulatory role in replication or expression of the rDNA minichromosome.

Allele-specific protein-DNA interactions between the single-stranded DNA-binding protein, ssA-TIBF, and DNA replication determinants in Tetrahymena

Type I elements are multifunctional, cis-acting determinants that regulate the initiation of DNA replication, replication fork movement and transcription of the Tetrahymena thermophila rDNA minichromosome. Previous studies identified a protein, ssA-TIBF, that binds specifically to the A-rich strand of type I elements. Here, we examine interactions of ssA-TIBF with the wild-type C3 allele, and a natural variant, B rDNA, which manifests a defect in replication initiation and fork pausing. Purified ssA-TIBF is a homotetramer that binds one substrate molecule and contacts DNA via a single 24 kDa subunit. Both the A-rich and T-rich strands of type I elements are bound by ssA-TIBF, suggesting that this protein might stabilize replication origins in their unwound state. Nucleotides downstream of type I elements contribute to DNA binding, with the extent of DNA-protein contact being greater for wild-type C3 rDNA compared to B rDNA. Allele-specific protein-DNA contacts also occur within the conserved type I element itself. Despite these differences, the binding affinities of ssA-TIBF for C3 and B rDNA substrates are indistinguishable. Consequently, the mode of DNA binding must account for any role ssA-TIBF might play in the regulation of rDNA replication.

Conserved cis- and trans-acting determinants for replication initiation and regulation of replication fork movement in tetrahymenid species

The rDNA minichromosomes of Tetrahymena thermophila and Tetrahymena pyriformis share a high degree of sequence similarity and structural organization. The T.thermophila 5' non-transcribed spacer (5' NTS) is sufficient for replication and contains three repeated sequence elements that are conserved in T.pyriformis , including type I elements, the only known determinant for replication control. To assess the role of conserved sequences in replication control, structural and functional studies were performed on T.pyriformis rDNA. Similar to T.thermophila , replication initiates exclusively in the 5' NTS, localizing to a 900 bp segment. Elongating replication forks arrest transiently at one site which bears strong similarity to a tripartite sequence element present at fork arrest sites in T.thermophila rDNA. An in vitro type I element binding activity indistinguishable from the T.thermophila protein, ssA-TIBF, was detected in T.pyriformis extracts. The respective TIBF proteins bind with comparable affinity to type I elements from both species, suggesting that in vivo recognition could cross species boundaries. Despite these similarities, the T.pyriformis 5' NTS failed to support replication in transformed T.thermophila cells, suggesting a more complex genetic organization than previously realized.

A promoter region mutation affecting replication of the Tetrahymena ribosomal DNA minichromosome

In the ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) minichromosome replicates partially under cell cycle control and is also subject to a copy number control mechanism. The relationship between rDNA replication and rRNA gene transcription was investigated by the analysis of replication, transcription, and DNA-protein interactions in a mutant rDNA, the rmm3 rDNA. The rmm3 (for rDNA maturation or maintenance mutant 3) rDNA contains a single-base deletion in the rRNA promoter region, in a phylogenetically conserved sequence element that is repeated in the replication origin region of the rDNA minichromosome. The multicopy rmm3 rDNA minichromosome has a maintenance defect in the presence of a competing rDNA allele in heterozygous cells. No difference in the level of rRNA transcription was found between wild-type and rmm3 strains. However, rmm3 rDNA replicating intermediates exhibited an enhanced pause in the region of the replication origin, roughly 750 bp upstream from the rmm3 mutation. In footprinting of isolated nuclei, the rmm3 rDNA lacked the wild-type dimethyl sulfate (DMS) footprint in the promoter region adjacent to the base change. In addition, a DMS footprint in the origin region was lost in the rmm3 rDNA minichromosome. This is the first reported correlation in this system between an rDNA minichromosome maintenance defect and an altered footprint in the origin region. Our results suggest that a promoter region mutation can affect replication without detectably affecting transcription. We propose a model in which interactions between promoter and origin region complexes facilitate replication and maintenance of the Tetrahymena rDNA minichromosome.

Type I elements mediate replication fork pausing at conserved upstream sites in the Tetrahymena thermophila ribosomal DNA minichromosome

Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis was used to study replication of the Tetrahymena thermophila ribosomal DNA (rDNA) minichromosome. During vegetative growth, the rDNA is replicated exclusively from origins in the 5' nontranscribed spacer (NTS). Whereas replication fork movement through the rest of the chromosome appears to be continuous, movement through the 5' NTS is not. Replication forks arrest transiently at three prominent replication fork pausing sites (RFPs) located in or immediately adjacent to nucleosome-free regions of the 5' NTS. Pausing at these sites is dramatically diminished during replication in Escherichia coli, suggesting that chromatin organization or Tetrahymena-specific proteins may be required. A conserved tripartite sequence was identified at each pausing site. Mutations in type I elements diminish pausing at proximal RFPs. Hence, type I elements, previously shown to control replication initiation, also regulate elongation of existing replication forks. Studies with rDNA transformants revealed a strong directional bias for fork pausing. Strong pausing only occurred in forks moving toward the rRNA-coding region. We propose that fork pausing in the 5' NTS evolved to synchronize replication and transcription of the downstream rRNA genes.

Chromatin domains and prediction of MAR sequences

Polynuceosomes are constrained into loops or domains and are insulated from the effects of chromatin structure and torsional strain from flanking domains by the cross-complexation of matrix-attached regions (MARs) and matrix proteins. MARs or SARs have an average size of 500 bp, are spaced about every 30 kb, and are control elements maintaining independent realms of gene activity. A fraction of MARs may cohabit with core origin replication (ORIs) and another fraction might cohabit with transcriptional enhancers. DNA replication, transcription, repair, splicing, and recombination seem to take place on the nuclear matrix. Classical AT-rich MARs have been proposed to anchor the core enhancers and core origins complexed with low abundancy transcription factors to the nuclear matrix via the cooperative binding to MARs of abundant classical matrix proteins (topoisomerase II, histone H1, lamins, SP120, ARBP, SATB1); this creates a unique nuclear microenvironment rich in regulatory proteins able to sustain transcription, replication, repair, and recombination. Theoretical searches and experimental data strongly support a model of activation of MARs and ORIs by transcription factors. A set of 21 characteristics are deduced or proposed for MAR/ORI sequences including their enrichment in inverted repeats, AT tracts, DNA unwinding elements, replication initiator protein sites, homooligonucleotide repeats (i.e., AAA, TTT, CCC), curved DNA, DNase I-hypersensitive sites, nucleosome-free stretches, polypurine stretches, and motifs with a potential for left-handed and triplex structures. We are establishing Banks of ORI and MAR sequences and have undertaken a large project of sequencing a large number of MARs in an effort to determine classes of DNA sequences in these regulatory elements and to understand their role at the origins of replication and transcriptional enhancers.

Modular structural elements in the replication origin region of Tetrahymena rDNA

Computer analyses of the DNA replication origin region in the amplified rRNA genes of Tetrahymena thermophila identified a potential initiation zone in the 5'NTS [Dobbs, Shaiu and Benbow (1994), Nucleic Acids Res. 22, 2479-2489]. This region consists of a putative DNA unwinding element (DUE) aligned with predicted bent DNA segments, nuclear matrix or scaffold associated region (MAR/SAR) consensus sequences, and other common modular sequence elements previously shown to be clustered in eukaryotic chromosomal origin regions. In this study, two mung bean nuclease-hypersensitive sites in super-coiled plasmid DNA were localized within the major DUE-like element predicted by thermodynamic analyses. Three restriction fragments of the 5'NTS region predicted to contain bent DNA segments exhibited anomalous migration characteristic of bent DNA during electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gels. Restriction fragments containing the 5'NTS region bound Tetrahymena nuclear matrices in an in vitro binding assay, consistent with an association of the replication origin region with the nuclear matrix in vivo. The direct demonstration in a protozoan origin region of elements previously identified in Drosophila, chick and mammalian origin regions suggests that clusters of modular structural elements may be a conserved feature of eukaryotic chromosomal origins of replication.