DNA polymerase I: essential replication enzyme

Bacillus subtilis encodes a discrete flap endonuclease that cleaves RNA-DNA hybrids

The current model for Okazaki fragment maturation in bacteria invokes RNA cleavage by RNase H, followed by strand displacement synthesis and 5' RNA flap removal by DNA polymerase I (Pol I). RNA removal by Pol I is thought to occur through the 5'-3' flap endo/exonuclease (FEN) domain, located in the N-terminus of the protein. In addition to Pol I, many bacteria encode a second, Pol I-independent FEN. The contribution of Pol I and Pol I-independent FENs to DNA replication and genome stability remains unclear. In this work we purified Bacillus subtilis Pol I and FEN, then assayed these proteins on a variety of RNA-DNA hybrid and DNA-only substrates. We found that FEN is far more active than Pol I on nicked double-flap, 5' single flap, and nicked RNA-DNA hybrid substrates. We show that the 5' nuclease activity of B. subtilis Pol I is feeble, even during DNA synthesis when a 5' flapped substrate is formed modeling an Okazaki fragment intermediate. Examination of Pol I and FEN on DNA-only substrates shows that FEN is more active than Pol I on most substrates tested. Further experiments show that ΔpolA phenotypes are completely rescued by expressing the C-terminal polymerase domain while expression of the N-terminal 5' nuclease domain fails to complement ΔpolA. Cells lacking FEN (ΔfenA) show a phenotype in conjunction with an RNase HIII defect, providing genetic evidence for the involvement of FEN in Okazaki fragment processing. With these results, we propose a model where cells remove RNA primers using FEN while upstream Okazaki fragments are extended through synthesis by Pol I. Our model resembles Okazaki fragment processing in eukaryotes, where Pol δ catalyzes strand displacement synthesis followed by 5' flap cleavage using FEN-1. Together our work highlights the conservation of ordered steps for Okazaki fragment processing in cells ranging from bacteria to human.

λ Recombination and Recombineering

The bacteriophage λ Red homologous recombination system has been studied over the past 50 years as a model system to define the mechanistic details of how organisms exchange DNA segments that share extended regions of homology. The λ Red system proved useful as a system to study because recombinants could be easily generated by co-infection of genetically marked phages. What emerged from these studies was the recognition that replication of phage DNA was required for substantial Red-promoted recombination in vivo, and the critical role that double-stranded DNA ends play in allowing the Red proteins access to the phage DNA chromosomes. In the past 16 years, however, the λ Red recombination system has gained a new notoriety. When expressed independently of other λ functions, the Red system is able to promote recombination of linear DNA containing limited regions of homology (∼50 bp) with the Escherichia coli chromosome, a process known as recombineering. This review explains how the Red system works during a phage infection, and how it is utilized to make chromosomal modifications of E. coli with such efficiency that it changed the nature and number of genetic manipulations possible, leading to advances in bacterial genomics, metabolic engineering, and eukaryotic genetics.

The DNA Exonucleases of Escherichia coli

DNA exonucleases, enzymes that hydrolyze phosphodiester bonds in DNA from a free end, play important cellular roles in DNA repair, genetic recombination and mutation avoidance in all organisms. This article reviews the structure, biochemistry, and biological functions of the 17 exonucleases currently identified in the bacterium Escherichia coli. These include the exonucleases associated with DNA polymerases I (polA), II (polB), and III (dnaQ/mutD); Exonucleases I (xonA/sbcB), III (xthA), IV, VII (xseAB), IX (xni/xgdG), and X (exoX); the RecBCD, RecJ, and RecE exonucleases; SbcCD endo/exonucleases; the DNA exonuclease activities of RNase T (rnt) and Endonuclease IV (nfo); and TatD. These enzymes are diverse in terms of substrate specificity and biochemical properties and have specialized biological roles. Most of these enzymes fall into structural families with characteristic sequence motifs, and members of many of these families can be found in all domains of life.

Lambda red mediated gap repair utilizes a novel replicative intermediate in Escherichia coli

The lambda phage Red recombination system can mediate efficient homologous recombination in Escherichia coli, which is the basis of the DNA engineering technique termed recombineering. Red mediated insertion of DNA requires DNA replication, involves a single-stranded DNA intermediate and is more efficient on the lagging strand of the replication fork. Lagging strand recombination has also been postulated to explain the Red mediated repair of gapped plasmids by an Okazaki fragment gap filling model. Here, we demonstrate that gap repair involves a different strand independent mechanism. Gap repair assays examining the strand asymmetry of recombination did not show a lagging strand bias. Directly testing an ssDNA plasmid showed lagging strand recombination is possible but dsDNA plasmids did not employ this mechanism. Insertional recombination combined with gap repair also did not demonstrate preferential lagging strand bias, supporting a different gap repair mechanism. The predominant recombination route involved concerted insertion and subcloning though other routes also operated at lower frequencies. Simultaneous insertion of DNA resulted in modification of both strands and was unaffected by mutations to DNA polymerase I, responsible for Okazaki fragment maturation. The lower efficiency of an alternate Red mediated ends-in recombination pathway and the apparent lack of a Holliday junction intermediate suggested that gap repair does not involve a different Red recombination pathway. Our results may be explained by a novel replicative intermediate in gap repair that does not involve a replication fork. We exploited these observations by developing a new recombineering application based on concerted insertion and gap repair, termed SPI (subcloning plus insertion). SPI selected against empty vector background and selected for correct gap repair recombinants. We used SPI to simultaneously insert up to four different gene cassettes in a single recombineering reaction. Consequently, our findings have important implications for the understanding of E. coli replication and Red recombination.

The deletion of rnhB in Mycobacterium smegmatis does not affect the level of RNase HII substrates or influence genome stability

RNase HII removes RNA from RNA/DNA hybrids, such as single ribonucleotides and RNA primers generated during DNA synthesis. Both, RNase HII substrates and RNase HII deficiency have been associated with genome instability in several organisms, and genome instability is a major force leading to the acquisition of drug resistance in bacteria. Understanding the mechanisms that underlie this phenomenon is one of the challenges in identifying efficient methods to combat bacterial pathogens. The aim of the present study was set to investigate the role of rnhB, presumably encoding RNase HII, in maintaining genome stability in the M. tuberculosis model organism Mycobacterium smegmatis. We performed gene replacement through homologous recombination to obtain mutant strains of Mycobacterium smegmatis lacking the rnhB gene. The mutants did not present an altered phenotype, according to the growth rate in liquid culture or susceptibility to hydroxyurea, and did not show an increase in the spontaneous mutation rate, determined using the Luria-Delbrück fluctuation test for streptomycin resistance in bacteria. The mutants also did not present an increase in the level of RNase HII substrates, measured as the level of alkaline degradation of chromosomal DNA or determined through immunodetection. We conclude that proteins other than RnhB proteins efficiently remove RNase HII substrates in M. smegmatis. These results highlight differences in the basic biology between Mycobacteria and eukaryotes and between different species of bacteria.

Involvement of Escherichia coli DNA Replication Proteins in Phage Lambda Red-Mediated Homologous Recombination

The Red recombination system of bacteriophage lambda is widely used for genetic engineering because of its ability to promote recombination between bacterial chromosomes or plasmids and linear DNA species introduced by electroporation. The process is known to be intimately tied to replication, but the cellular functions which participate with Red in this process are largely unknown. Here two such functions are identified: the GrpE-DnaK-DnaJ chaperone system, and DNA polymerase I. Mutations in either function are found to decrease the efficiency of Red recombination. grpE and dnaJ mutations which greatly decrease Red recombination with electroporated DNA species have only small effects on Red-mediated transduction. This recombination event specificity suggests that the involvement of GrpE-DnaJ-DnaK is not simply an effect on Red structure or stability.

Wanderings of a DNA enzymologist: from DNA polymerase to viral latency

I am a member of what has been called, perhaps too grandiosely, "The Greatest Generation." I grew up during the Great Depression and served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Because of my military service and the benefits of the GI Bill, I was able to attend college and, later, graduate school. Early in my graduate studies, I became fascinated with enzymes and the biochemical reactions that they catalyze. This fascination has never left me during the 50 years I have been a "DNA enzymologist." I was fortunate to have had as a mentor Arthur Kornberg, one of the great biochemists of the twentieth century, and a splendid group of postdocs and graduate students. I have studied DNA polymerases, DNA nucleases, DNA ligases, and DNA recombinases, enzymes that are critical to our understanding of DNA replication, repair, and recombination. Most recently, I have been studying herpes virus replication and inadvertently wandered into an entirely new area-viral latency.

Destabilization of tetranucleotide repeats in Haemophilus influenzae mutants lacking RnaseHI or the Klenow domain of PolI

A feature of Haemophilus influenzae genomes is the presence of several loci containing tracts of six or more identical tetranucleotide repeat units. These repeat tracts are unstable and mediate high frequency, reversible alterations in the expression of surface antigens. This process, termed phase variation (PV), enables H.influenzae to rapidly adapt to fluctuations in the host environment. Perturbation of lagging strand DNA synthesis is known to destabilize simple sequence repeats in yeast and Escherichia coli. By using a chromosomally located reporter construct, we demonstrated that the mutation of an H.influenzae rnhA (encoding RnaseHI) homologue increases the mutation rates of tetranucleotide repeats ∼3-fold. Additionally, deletion of the Klenow domain of DNA polymerase I (PolI) resulted in a ∼35-fold increase in tetranucleotide repeat-mediated PV rates. Deletion of the PolI 5′>3′ exonuclease domain appears to be lethal. The phenotypes of these mutants suggest that delayed or mutagenic Okazaki fragment processing destabilizes H.influenzae tetranucleotide repeat tracts.

DNA nicks inflicted by restriction endonucleases are repaired by a RecA- and RecB-dependent pathway in Escherichia coli

Two mutants of the EcoRI endonuclease (R200K and E144C) predominantly nick only one strand of the DNA substrate. Temperature sensitivity of the mutant enzymes allowed us to study the consequences of inflicting DNA nicks at EcoRI sites in vivo. Expression of the EcoRI endonuclease mutants in the absence of the EcoRI methyltransferase induces the SOS DNA repair response and greatly reduces viability of recA56, recB21 and lexA3 mutant strains of Escherichia coli. In parallel studies, overexpression of the EcoRV endonuclease in cells also expressing the EcoRV methyltransferase was used to introduce nicks at non-cognate EcoRV sites in the bacterial genome. EcoRV overproduction was lethal in recA56 and recB21 mutant strains and moderately toxic in a lexA3 mutant strain. The toxic effect of EcoRV overproduction could be partially alleviated by introduction into the cells of multiple copies of the E. coli DNA ligase gene. These observations suggest that an increased number of DNA nicks can overwhelm the repair capacity of DNA ligase, resulting in the conversion of a proportion of DNA nicks into DNA lesions that require recombination for repair.

Overproduction of DnaE protein (alpha subunit of DNA polymerase III) restores viability in a conditionally inviable Escherichia coli strain deficient in DNA polymerase I

A polA12 recA718 double mutant of Escherichia coli, in which DNA polymerase I is temperature sensitive, was unable to maintain normal DNA synthesis or to form colonies on rich media at 42 degrees C. Overproduction of DnaE protein, the polymerizing alpha subunit of DNA polymerase III, restored bacterial DNA replication and cell viability, as well as the PolI-dependent replication of the plasmid carrying dnaE.

Cellular role of DNA polymerase I

Escherichia coli possesses three well-established DNA polymerases, I, II, and III. DNA polymerase I (Pol I) is the main repair polymerase in E. coli and also has a minor but important role in chromosomal replication. A major advantage of Pol I as an experimental system is its simplicity; unlike other replication enzymes, it is active as a single subunit. To a large extent, mutagenesis appears to be the result of (dis)functions of the DNA replication machinery. It is the purpose of this review to provide an integrated view of this relationship with particular emphasis on the role of Pol I in mutagenic events.

Restoration of viability to an Escherichia coli mutant deficient in the 5'----3' exonuclease of DNA polymerase I

An Escherichia coli polA (Ex) mutant that is usually inviable at restrictive temperatures (43 degrees C) was found to grow normally at 43 degrees C when incubated in the presence of a membrane-containing fraction prepared from E. coli. This membrane fraction causes anaerobic conditions that are necessary but not sufficient for restoration of viability since some component present in the membrane fraction is also required for colony formation at 43 degrees C. The accumulation of small DNA fragments typical of aerobic growth of the polA(Ex) mutant was also seen under anaerobic conditions. The polA(Ex) strain was also much more sensitive than the isogenic wild-type strain to hydrogen peroxide.

Method for determining whether a gene of Escherichia coli is essential: application to the polA gene

We have developed a general method for determining whether a gene of Escherichia coli is essential for viability. The method requires cloned DNA spanning the gene in question and a reasonably detailed genetic and physical map of the cloned segment. Using this information, one constructs a deletion of the target gene in vitro. For convenience, the deletion can be marked by an antibiotic resistance gene. A DNA segment containing the deletion is then cloned onto an att delta phage lambda vector. Integration of this phage, by homologous recombination at the target locus, and subsequent excision provide an efficient route for crossing the marked deletion onto the bacterial chromosome. Failure to delete the target gene indicates either that the resulting deletion was not viable or that the desired recombinational event did not take place. The use of prophage excision to generate the deletion allows one to estimate the fraction of deletion-producing events by analysis of the other product of the excision, the phage produced on induction of the prophage. In this way one can determine whether failure to recover a particular chromosomal deletion was due to its never having been formed, or, once formed, to its failure to survive. Applying this method to the polA gene, we found that polA is required for growth on rich medium but not on minimal medium. We repeated the experiment in the presence of plasmids carrying functional fragments of the polA gene, corresponding to the 5'-3' exonuclease and the polymerase-3'-5' exonuclease portions of DNA polymerase I. Surprisingly, either of these fragments, in the absence of the other, was sufficient to allow growth on rich medium.

A cellular factor involved in the formation of a DNA-synthesizing complex from DNA polymerase I in Escherichia coli

A factor ('E') has been identified which stabilizes an endogenous DNA-synthesizing complex involving DNA polymerase I. The complex is separated from free DNA polymerase by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The factor will reform the complex after it has been dissociated and will convert a preparation of DNA polymerase I to complex. The factor and the DNA-synthesizing complex both appear to be localized at the cell membrane.

The roles of individual polyoma virus early proteins in oncogenic transformation

The expression in normal rat cells of modified polyoma virus genomes, separately encoding large T, middle T or small T antigens, has allowed the investigation of the roles of these proteins in oncogenic transformation. Middle T is sufficient to transform cells of established lines but the transformants are serum dependent. Large T lacks intrinsic oncogenic potential but can relieve the serum dependence of normal and transformed cells. Middle T alone cannot transform primary rat embryo fibroblasts.

Detection of the catalytic activities of DNA polymerases and their associated exonucleases following SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis

A method is described to detect DNA polymerases and nucleases in homogeneous or crude enzyme preparations after electrophoresis in SDS-polyacrylamide gels(2) containing the appropriate template or substrate. DNA polymerases are electrophoresed in a gel containing gapped calf thymus DNA and after a renaturation treatment, the gel is incubated in a reaction mixture in which one deoxyribonucleoside triphosphate is [alpha-32P]-labelled. Incorporation of radioactivity into DNA is detected at the vicinity of the polymerase band by autoradiography. An associated nuclease activity can be measured after electrophoresis in a gel containing 32P-labelled gapped DNA, when nucleolytic digestion is seen as a clear band in the resulting autoradiogram. The gels can subsequently be stained with Coomassie blue to establish identical molecular weights of polymerase, nuclease and protein bands. Applications of this technique are discussed.

Purification and properties of DNA polymerase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv

DNA polymerase has been purified approximately 2000-fold from Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv. The purified preparation was homogeneous by electrophoretic criteria and has a molecular weight of 135 000. The purified enzyme resembles Escherichia coli polymerase I in its properties, being insensitive to sulfhydryl drugs and possessing 5',3'-exonuclease activity in addition to polymerase and 3',5'-exonuclease activities. However, it differs from the latter in its sensitivity to higher salt concentration and DNA intercalating agents such as 8-aminoquinoline. The polymerase exhibited maximal activity between 37--42 degrees C and pH 8.8--9.5. The polymerase was stable for several months below 0 degree C. However, the 5',3'-exonuclease activity was more labile. The effects of different metal ions, polyamines and drugs on the polymerase activity are presented.

Conditional-lethal deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase I mutant of Escherichia coli

A new deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase I mutant of Escherichia coli was isolated among conditional lethal mutants. Deoxyribonucleic acid replication in the mutant ceased in 20 min after the temperature was raised to 43 degrees C, and reinitiated when cells were further incubated at this temperature.

Construction and characterization of Escherichia coli polA-lacZ gene fusions

The promoter of the polA gene of Escherichia coli K-12 was fused to the lacZ gene by selecting deletions within a lambda lacZ polA transducing phage. Four fusions, deleting varying amounts of the polA gene, were characterized. The polA promoter was found to be approximately 3% as active as the fully induced lac promoter. This figure is compatible with the normal intracellular level of deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase I. No evidence was found for outogenous regulation of transcription from the polA promoter. Expression from this promoter was influenced by neither recA nor mitomycin C, but uvrD and uvrE mutations reduced expression slightly.

Deletion mapping of the polA-metB region of the Escherichia coli chromosome

A lambdacI857 prophage inserted into one of the genes of the rha locus was used to select deletions unambiguously ordering the markers polA-glnA-rha-pfkA-tpi-metBJF. Transduction with phage P1 indicates at least 70% linkage between glnA and polA. The order of the pfk and tpi markers is reversed from that previously published. Despite the relatively large distance separating the glnA and rha loci, deletions removing this entire region have no obvious phenotype. The isolation of Tn10 transposons integrated at different sites between rha and glnA greatly facilitated this work.

"Nick translation" in Escherichia coli rep strains deficient in DNA polymerase I activities

Using phiX1974 replicative form (RF) DNA as an in vivo probe, we have investigated the coordinated action of the 5' leads to 3' exonuclease and polymerase activities of DNA polymerase I in order to understand better its physiological role. We constructed double mutants containing the rep mutation (the replication of phiX174 RF does not occur in rep mutants) together with a mutation affecting DNA polymerase I, either polA12 or polA546ex. Using these mutants, which are believed to be thermosensitive in the polymerase function or the 5' leads to 3' exonuclease function respectively, we studied the kinetics of nick translation at the permissive and non-permissive temperatures in vivo. The substrate was the phiX174 replicative form DNA nicked by the phiX174 gene A protein. E. coli rep polA546ex gave the lowest rate of nick translation, although the ability to perform nick translation, at least as measured by our assay, was still present. E. coli rep polA12 showed a similar low rate at the non-permissive temperature but a rate close to the wild-type level at the permissive temperature. Formation of the parental replicative form molecule in either strain was affected little, even at the restrictive temperature. Our results suggest that DNA polymerase I may not play a major role in ongoing DNA replication.

Three forms of DNA polymerase from Drosophila melanogaster embryos. Purification and properties

DNA polymerase was purified from Drosophila melanogaster embryos by a combination of phosphocellulose adsorption, Sepharose 6B gel filtration, and DEAE-cellulose chromatography. Three enzyme forms, designated enzymes I, II, and III, were separated by differential elution from DEAE-cellulose and were further purified by glycerol gradient centrifugation. Purification was monitored with two synthetic primer-templates, poly(dA) . (dT)-16 and poly(rA) . (dT)-16. At the final step of purification, enzymes I, II, and III were purified approximately 1700-fold, 2000-fold and 1000-fold, respectively, on the basis of their activities with poly(dA) . (dT)-16. The DNA polymerase eluted heterogeneously as anomalously high-molecular-weight molecules from Sepharose 6B gel filtration columns. On DEAE-cellulose chromatography enzymes I and II eluted as distinct peaks and enzyme III eluted heterogeneously. On glycerol velocity gradients enzyme I sedimented at 5.5-7.3 S, enzyme II sedimented at 7.3-8.3 S, and enzyme III sedimented at 7.3-9.0 S. All enzymes were active with both synthetic primer-templates, except the 9.0 S component of enzyme III, which was inactive with poly(rA) . (dT)-16. Non-denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis did not separate poly(dA) . (dT)-16 activity from poly(rA) . (dT)-16 activity. The DNA polymerase preferred poly(dA) . (dT)-16 (with Mg2+) as a primer-template, although it was also active with poly(rA) . (dT)-16 (with Mn2+), and it preferred activated calf thymus DNA to native or heat-denatured calf thymus DNA. All three primer-template activities were inhibited by N-ethylmaleimide. Enzyme activity with activated DNA and poly(dA) . (dT)-16 was inhibited by K+ and activity with poly(rA) . (dT)-16 was stimulated by K+ and by spermidine. The optimum pH for enzyme activity with the synthetic primer-templates was 8.5. The DNA polymerases did not exhibit deoxyribonuclease or ATPase activities. The results of this study suggest that the forms of DNA polymerase from Drosophila embryos have physical properties similar to those of DNA polymerase-alpha and enzymatic properties similar to those of all three vertebrate DNA polymerases.

The deoxyribonucleic acid polymerases from the diatom Cylindrotheca fusiformis. Partial purification and characterization of four distinct activities

Four extramitochondrial DNA polymerases from the marine photosynthetic diatom Cylindrotheca fusiformis were isolated and purified more than 1200-fold by chromatography on DNA-cellulose and DEAE-Sephadex. The enzymes were equally susceptible to inhibition by the thiol-blocking agents N-ethylmaleimide and p-chloromercuribenzoate, the zinc chelator o-phenathroline, and the nucleic acid interchelators ethidium bromide and acriflavin; they displayed similar pH optima, preferred activated DNA, and had strict dependence on high K+ for maximum activity. They were differentiated on the basis of their kinetic parameters, template-primer utilization and salt requirements. The four activities varied with growth stage of C. fusiformis. Activities of polymerases A and D doubled in exponential-phase cells as compared with those in stationary-phase cells, and the increase in polymerase B and chloroplast activity C was 20-40%. The relationship of the diatom polymerases to the complements in other organisms is discussed.

Recent excitement in the DNA replication problem

It is now possible to reproduce most of the reactions involved in DNA replication using prokaryotic enzymes in vitro. Such systems have revealed that DNA replication is a complex process depending on a relatively large number of proteins, and that nucleoside triphosphate hydrolysis energy is used at several discrete steps. Much of the complexity of DNA replication may arise from the need for extreme copying fidelity.

Prophage induction in Escherichia coli K12 cells deficient in DNA polymerase I

The induction of prophage lambda by ultraviolet light has been measured in E. coli K12 lysogenic cells deficient in DNA polymerase I. The efficiency of the induction process was greater in polA1 polC(dnaE) double mutants incubated at the temperature that blocks DNA replication than in polA+ polC single mutants. Similarly, the polA1 mutation sensitized tif-promoted lysogenic induction in a polA1 tif strain at 42 degrees. In strains bearing the polA12 mutation, which growth normally at 30 degrees, induction of the prophage occurred after the shift to 42 degrees. It is concluded that dissapearance of the DNA polymerase I activity leads to changes in DNA replication that are able, per se, trigger the prophage induction process.

Multiple forms of Drosophila embryo DNA polymerase: evidence for proteolytic conversion

The DNA polymerase in crude extracts of Drosophila melanogaster embryos sedimented at 9.0, 7.3, and 5.5 S on glycerol velocity gradients. The relative proportions of these enzymes depended on the method used to prepare the extract. Extracts of whole embryos contained the 7.3S and the 5.5S DNA polymerases and extracts of dechorionated embryos contained the 9.0S and 7.3S DNA polymerases. The porportion of the 5.5S DNA polymerase increased relative to the 7.3S DNA polymerase during storage of the extract of whole embryos. The protease inhibitor, phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride, inhibited the formation of the 5.5S DNA polymerase, suggesting that it was proteolytically produced from the 7.3S DNA polymerase. This was demonstrated directly by converting the 7.3S DNA polymerase to the 5.5S DNA polymerase by treatment in vitro with trypsin. The degradation of the enzyme occurred without significant loss of DNA polymerase activity. It is further demonstrated that endogenous proteolysis reduced the chromatographic heterogeneity of the Drosophila DNA polymerase on diethylaminoethyl-Sephadex. When endogenous proteolysis was reduced, three forms of DNA polymerase were isolated by diethylaminoethylcellulose chromatography; two of these enzymes sedimented at 7.3S and the third sedimented at 9.0S. These results demonstrate the physical heterogeneity of the Drosophila DNA polymerase and suggest its similarity to vertebrate DNA polymerase-alpha.