The Histone Variant H3.3 Is Enriched at Drosophila Amplicon Origins but Does Not Mark Them for Activation

HIRA-dependent boundaries between H3 variants shape early replication in mammals

The lack of a consensus DNA sequence defining replication origins in mammals has led researchers to consider chromatin as a means to specify these regions. However, to date, there is no mechanistic understanding of how this could be achieved and maintained given that nucleosome disruption occurs with each fork passage and with transcription. Here, by genome-wide mapping of the de novo deposition of the histone variants H3.1 and H3.3 in human cells during S phase, we identified how their dual deposition mode ensures a stable marking with H3.3 flanked on both sides by H3.1. These H3.1/H3.3 boundaries correspond to the initiation zones of early origins. Loss of the H3.3 chaperone HIRA leads to the concomitant disruption of H3.1/H3.3 boundaries and initiation zones. We propose that the HIRA-dependent deposition of H3.3 preserves H3.1/H3.3 boundaries by protecting them from H3.1 invasion linked to fork progression, contributing to a chromatin-based definition of early replication zones.

Su(Hw) primes 66D and 7F Drosophila chorion genes loci for amplification through chromatin decondensation

Suppressor of Hairy wing [Su(Hw)] is an insulator protein that participates in regulating chromatin architecture and gene repression in Drosophila. In previous studies we have shown that Su(Hw) is also required for pre-replication complex (pre-RC) recruitment on Su(Hw)-bound sites (SBSs) in Drosophila S2 cells and pupa. Here, we describe the effect of Su(Hw) on developmentally regulated amplification of 66D and 7F Drosophila amplicons in follicle cells (DAFCs), widely used as models in replication studies. We show Su(Hw) binding co-localizes with all known DAFCs in Drosophila ovaries, whereas disruption of Su(Hw) binding to 66D and 7F DAFCs causes a two-fold decrease in the amplification of these loci. The complete loss of Su(Hw) binding to chromatin impairs pre-RC recruitment to all amplification regulatory regions of 66D and 7F loci at early oogenesis (prior to DAFCs amplification). These changes coincide with a considerable Su(Hw)-dependent condensation of chromatin at 66D and 7F loci. Although we observed the Brm, ISWI, Mi-2, and CHD1 chromatin remodelers at SBSs genome wide, their remodeler activity does not appear to be responsible for chromatin decondensation at the 66D and 7F amplification regulatory regions. We have discovered that, in addition to the CBP/Nejire and Chameau histone acetyltransferases, the Gcn5 acetyltransferase binds to 66D and 7F DAFCs at SBSs and this binding is dependent on Su(Hw). We propose that the main function of Su(Hw) in developmental amplification of 66D and 7F DAFCs is to establish a chromatin structure that is permissive to pre-RC recruitment.

Loss of histone H3.3 results in DNA replication defects and altered origin dynamics in C. elegans

Histone H3.3 is a replication-independent variant of histone H3 with important roles in development, differentiation, and fertility. Here, we show that loss of H3.3 results in replication defects in Caenorhabditis elegans embryos at elevated temperatures. To characterize these defects, we adapt methods to determine replication timing, map replication origins, and examine replication fork progression. Our analysis of the spatiotemporal regulation of DNA replication shows that despite the very rapid embryonic cell cycle, the genome is replicated from early and late firing origins and is partitioned into domains of early and late replication. We find that under temperature stress conditions, additional replication origins become activated. Moreover, loss of H3.3 results in altered replication fork progression around origins, which is particularly evident at stress-activated origins. These replication defects are accompanied by replication checkpoint activation, a delayed cell cycle, and increased lethality in checkpoint-compromised embryos. Our comprehensive analysis of DNA replication in C. elegans reveals the genomic location of replication origins and the dynamics of their firing, and uncovers a role of H3.3 in the regulation of replication origins under stress conditions.

DNA Replication Control During Drosophila Development: Insights into the Onset of S Phase, Replication Initiation, and Fork Progression

Proper control of DNA replication is critical to ensure genomic integrity during cell proliferation. In addition, differential regulation of the DNA replication program during development can change gene copy number to influence cell size and gene expression. Drosophila melanogaster serves as a powerful organism to study the developmental control of DNA replication in various cell cycle contexts in a variety of differentiated cell and tissue types. Additionally, Drosophila has provided several developmentally regulated replication models to dissect the molecular mechanisms that underlie replication-based copy number changes in the genome, which include differential underreplication and gene amplification. Here, we review key findings and our current understanding of the developmental control of DNA replication in the contexts of the archetypal replication program as well as of underreplication and differential gene amplification. We focus on the use of these latter two replication systems to delineate many of the molecular mechanisms that underlie the developmental control of replication initiation and fork elongation.

Incompatibility between mitochondrial and nuclear genomes during oogenesis results in ovarian failure and embryonic lethality

Mitochondrial dysfunction can cause female infertility. An important unresolved issue is the extent to which incompatibility between mitochondrial and nuclear genomes contributes to female infertility. It has previously been shown that a mitochondrial haplotype from D. simulans (simw⁵⁰¹ ) is incompatible with a nuclear genome from the D. melanogaster strain Oregon-R (OreR), resulting in impaired development, which was enhanced at higher temperature. This mito-nuclear incompatibility is between alleles of the nuclear-encoded mitochondrial tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase (Aatm) and the mitochondrial-encoded tyrosyl-tRNA that it aminoacylates. Here, we show that this mito-nuclear incompatibility causes a severe temperature-sensitive female infertility. The OreR nuclear genome contributed to death of ovarian germline stem cells and reduced egg production, which was further enhanced by the incompatibility with simw⁵⁰¹  mitochondria. Mito-nuclear incompatibility also resulted in aberrant egg morphology and a maternal-effect on embryonic chromosome segregation and survival, which was completely dependent on the temperature and mito-nuclear genotype of the mother. Our findings show that maternal mito-nuclear incompatibility during Drosophila oogenesis has severe consequences for egg production and embryonic survival, with important broader relevance to human female infertility and mitochondrial replacement therapy.