Selection of template initiation sites and the lengths of RNA primers synthesized by DNA primase are strongly affected by its organization in a multiprotein DNA polymerase alpha complex.

Synthesis of (p)ppRNA-DNA chains by purified HeLa cell DNA primase-DNA polymerase alpha (pol alpha-primase) was compared with those synthesized by a multiprotein form of DNA polymerase alpha (pol alpha 2) using unique single-stranded DNA templates containing the origin of replication for simian virus 40 (SV40) DNA. The nucleotide locations of 33 initiation sites were identified by mapping G*pppN-RNA-DNA chains and identifying their 5'-terminal ribonucleotide. Pol alpha 2 strongly preferred initiation sites that began with ATP rather than GTP, thus frequently preferring different initiation sites than pol alpha-primase, depending on the template examined. The initiation sites selected in vitro, however, did not correspond to the sites used during SV40 DNA replication in vivo. Pol alpha 2 had the greatest effect on RNA primer size, typically synthesizing primers 1-5 nucleotides long, while pol alpha-primase synthesized primers 6-8 nucleotides long. These differences were observed even at individual initiation sites. Thus, the multiprotein form of DNA primase-DNA polymerase alpha affects selection of initiation sites, the frequency at which the sites are chosen, and length of RNA primers.     

DNA primase-DNA polymerase alpha from simian cells: sequence specificity of initiation sites on simian virus 40 DNA.

Unique single-stranded regions of simian virus 40 DNA, phage M13 virion DNA, and several homopolymers were used as templates for the synthesis of (p)ppRNA-DNA chains by CV-1 cell DNA primase-DNA polymerase alpha. Intact RNA primers, specifically labeled with an RNA capping enzyme, were typically 6 to 8 ribonucleotides long, although their lengths ranged from 1 to 9 bases. The fraction of intact RNA primers 1 to 4 ribonucleotides long was 14 to 73%, depending on the template used. RNA primer length varied among primers initiated at the same nucleotide, as well as with primers initiated at different sites. Thus, the size of an RNA primer depended on template sequence. Initiation sites were identified by mapping 5' ends of nascent RNA-DNA chains on the template sequence, identifying the 5'-terminal ribonucleotide, and partially sequencing one RNA primer. A total of 56 initiation events were identified on simian virus 40 DNA, an average of 1 every 16 bases. Some sites were preferred over others. A consensus sequence for initiation sites consisted of either 3'-dCTTT or 3'-dCCC centered within 7 to 25 pyrimidine-rich residues; the 5' ends of RNA primers were complementary to the dT or dC. High ATP/GTP ratios promoted initiation of RNA primer synthesis at 3'-dCTTT sites, whereas low ATP/GTP ratios promoted initiation at 3'-dCCC sites. Similarly, polydeoxythymidylic acid and polydeoxycytidylic acid were the only effective homopolymer templates. Thus, both template sequence and ribonucleoside triphosphate concentrations determine which initiation sites are used by DNA primase-DNA polymerase alpha. Remarkably, initiation sites selected in vitro were strikingly different from initiation sites selected during simian virus 40 DNA replication in vivo.     

Inhibition of primase, the dnaG protein of Escherichia coli by 2'-deoxy-2'-azidocytidine triphosphate.

2'-Deoxy-2'-azidocytidine-5'-triphosphate was investigated as an inhibitor in two reconstructed enzyme systems which catalyze the replication of two viral DNAs. During replication of the duplex replicative form of phiX174 DNA, DNA polymerase III holoenzyme was weakly inhibited and inhibition was reversed by dCTP. A more pronounced inhibition, not reversed by either dCTP or CTP, was observed during replication of the single-stranded DNA of the bacteriophage G4, a close relative of phiX174. This effect depended on the incorporation of 2'-deoxy-2'-azidocytidine-5'-triphosphate by primase (dnaG protein) which synthesizes a 29-residue RNA primer at the unique origin of bacteriophage G4 DNA replication. Extension of the primer strand, terminated by 2'-deoxy-2'-azidocytidine-5'-triphosphate is then severely inhibited. Primase was also inhibited by the 2'-deoxy-2'-azido derivatives of ATP, GTP, and UTP.     

Characterization of a novel DNA primase from the Salmonella typhimurium bacteriophage SP6

The gene for the DNA primase encoded by Salmonella typhimurium bacteriophage SP6 has been cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli and its 74-kDa protein product purified to homogeneity. The SP6 primase is a DNA-dependent RNA polymerase that synthesizes short oligoribonucleotides containing each of the four canonical ribonucleotides. GTP and CTP are both required for the initiation of oligoribonucleotide synthesis. In reactions containing only GTP and CTP, SP6 primase incorporates GTP at the 5'-end of oligoribonucleotides and CMP at the second position. On synthetic DNA templates, pppGpC dinucleotides are synthesized most rapidly in the presence of the sequence 5'-GCA-3'. This trinucleotide sequence, containing a cryptic dA at the 3'-end, differs from other known bacterial and phage primase recognition sites. SP6 primase shares some properties with the well-characterized E. colibacteriophage T7 primase. The T7 DNA polymerase can use oligoribonucleotides synthesized by SP6 primase as primers for DNA synthesis. However, oligoribonucleotide synthesis by SP6 primase is not stimulated by either the E. coli- or the T7-encoded ssDNA binding protein. An amino acid sequence alignment of the SP6 and T7 primases, which share only 22.4% amino acid identity, indicates amino acids likely critical for oligoribonucleotide synthesis as well as a putative Cys(3)His zinc finger motif that may be involved in DNA binding.     

DNA primase-DNA polymerase alpha assembly from mouse FM3A cells. Purification of constituting enzymes, reconstitution, and analysis of RNA priming as coupled to DNA synthesis

The mouse DNA primase-DNA polymerase alpha complex can be resolved with buffer containing 50% ethylene glycol (Suzuki, M., Enomoto, T., Hanaoka, F., and Yamada, M. (1985) J. Biochem. (Tokyo) 98, 581-584). The dissociated primase and DNA polymerase alpha have been purified sufficiently that there was no cross-contamination with each other. By the use of thus isolated DNA primase and DNA polymerase alpha in addition to DNA primase-DNA polymerase alpha complex, we have studied primer RNA synthesis and DNA elongation separately as well as the coupled reaction of the initiation and elongation of DNA chains. In the absence of deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates, the isolated primase synthesized oligoribonucleotides of an apparent length of 7-11 nucleotides (monomeric oligomer) and multiples of a modal length of 9-10 nucleotides (multimeric oligomer) and fd phage single-stranded circular DNA. Monomeric and dimeric oligomers were synthesized processively, and trimeric and larger oligomers were produced by repeated cycles of processive synthesis. The primase complexed with DNA polymerase alpha mainly synthesized monomeric and a small amount of dimeric oligomers. In the presence of deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates at concentrations above 10 microM, the DNA primase-DNA polymerase alpha complex exclusively synthesized monomeric oligomers only, which were utilized as primers for DNA synthesis. On the other hand, the products synthesized by the isolated primase were qualitatively unchanged as compared with those synthesized in the absence of DNA precursors. When the synthesis of oligomers by the isolated primase was coupled with DNA elongation by the addition of the primase-free DNA polymerase alpha, the synthesis of dimeric oligomers was inhibited as a result of efficient DNA elongation from monomeric oligomers.     

Evidence that discontinuous DNA replication in Escherichia coli is primed by approximately 10 to 12 residues of RNA starting with a purine

Intact primer RNA for discontinuous DNA replication of Escherichia coli has been detected by specific labeling in vitro of its 5'-terminal tri- (or di-) phosphate group with vaccinia guanylyltransferase and [alpha-32P]GTP. A mutant defective either in RNase H or in both RNase H and DNA polymerase I accumulated about 10 or 30 times more intact primer RNA, respectively, than wild-type cells. The primers started with purine in an A to G ratio of 5 and the most abundant 5'-terminal dinucleotide sequence was (p)ppA-Pu. The chain length of the intact primer RNA was approximately 10 to 12 nucleotide residues. The structural properties of the E. coli primer RNa resemble those of the eukaryotic primer RNA.     

DNA primase stimulatory factor from mouse FM3A cells has an RNase H activity. Purification of the factor and analysis of the stimulation

Two forms of DNA primase stimulatory factor have been purified from mouse FM3A cells and shown to have RNase H activity. One of the factors, which consists of three polypeptides of 42,000, 41,000, and 27,000 daltons, was characterized in its properties as RNase H and DNA primase stimulatory factor. The nucleolytic activity of the factor specifically digested the RNA component of RNA-DNA hybrids in an endonucleolytic manner. The stimulation by the factor was observed in DNA synthesis by DNA primase-DNA polymerase alpha complex on unprimed DNA templates, and the DNA chains synthesized under these conditions in the presence of the factor were much shorter than those synthesized in its absence. The stimulatory effect of the factor on DNA primase activity was directly confirmed with DNA primase dissociated from DNA polymerase alpha by the observation of the increase in the number of synthesized oligoribonucleotides. The primer RNA synthesis by DNA primase-DNA polymerase alpha complex under the condition where DNA synthesis occurred was also significantly stimulated by the factor. Furthermore, under these conditions RNA primers were removed from DNA chains by the RNase H activity of the factor.     

De novo synthesis of minus strand RNA by the rotavirus RNA polymerase in a cell-free system involves a novel mechanism of initiation

The replicase activity of rotavirus open cores has been used to study the synthesis of (-) strand RNA from viral (+) strand RNA in a cell-free replication system. The last 7 nt of the (+) strand RNA, 5'-UGUGACC-3', are highly conserved and are necessary for efficient (-) strand synthesis in vitro. Characterization of the cell-free replication system revealed that the addition of NaCl inhibited (-) strand synthesis. By preincubating open cores with (+) strand RNA and ATP, CTP, and GTP prior to the addition of NaCl and UTP, the salt-sensitive step was overcome. Thus, (-) strand initiation, but not elongation, was a salt-sensitive process in the cell-free system. Further analysis of the requirements for initiation showed that preincubating open cores and the (+) strand RNA with GTP or UTP, but not with ATP or CTP, allowed (-) strand synthesis to occur in the presence of NaCl. Mutagenesis suggested that in the presence of GTP, (-) strand synthesis initiated at the 3'-terminal C residue of the (+) strand template, whereas in the absence of GTP, an aberrant initiation event occurred at the third residue upstream from the 3' end of the (+) strand RNA. During preincubation with GTP, formation of the dinucleotides pGpG and ppGpG was detected; however, no such products were made during preincubation with ATP, CTP, or UTP. Replication assays showed that pGpG, but not GpG, pApG, or ApG, served as a specific primer for (-) strand synthesis and that the synthesis of pGpG may occur by a template-independent process. From these data, we conclude that initiation of rotavirus (-) strand synthesis involves the formation of a ternary complex consisting of the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, viral (+) strand RNA, and possibly a 5'-phosphorylated dinucleotide, that is, pGpG or ppGpG.     

An Okazaki piece of simian virus 40 may be synthesized by ligation of shorter precursor chains.

It is generally accepted that an aphidicolin-sensitive DNA polymerase elongates the eucaryotic RNA primer (iRNA) into a mature Okazaki piece reaching ca. 200 nucleotides. Yet, as shown here, nascent DNA chains below 40 nucleotides accumulated in simian virus 40 (SV40) DNA replicating in isolated nuclei in the presence of aphidicolin. These products resembled precursors of longer Okazaki pieces synthesized in the absence of aphidicolin (termed here DNA primers) in size distribution, lagging-replication-fork polarity, and content of iRNA. Within the isolated SV40 replicative intermediate, DNA primers could be extended in a reaction catalyzed by the Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I large fragment. This increased their length by an average of 21 deoxyribonucleotide residues, indicating that single-stranded gaps of corresponding length existed 3' to the DNA primers. Incubation with T4 DNA ligase converted most of the extended DNA primers into products resembling long Okazaki pieces. These data led us to propose that the synthesis of an SV40 Okazaki piece could be itself discontinuous and could comprise the following steps: (i) iRNA synthesis by DNA primase, (ii) iRNA extension into a DNA primer by an aphidicolin-resistant activity associated with DNA primase-DNA polymerase alpha, (iii) removal of iRNA moieties between adjacent DNA primers, (iv) "gap filling" between DNA primers by the aphidicolin-sensitive DNA polymerase alpha, and (v) ligation of DNA primer units onto a growing Okazaki piece. Eventually, a mature Okazaki piece is ligated onto a longer nascent DNA chain.     

Initiation of RNA-primed DNA synthesis in vitro by DNA polymerase alpha-primase.

The initiation of new DNA strands at origins of replication in animal cells requires de novo synthesis of RNA primers by primase and subsequent elongation from RNA primers by DNA polymerase alpha. To study the specificity of primer site selection by the DNA polymerase alpha-primase complex (pol alpha-primase), a natural DNA template containing a site for replication initiation was constructed. Two single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) molecules were hybridized to each other generating a duplex DNA molecule with an open helix replication 'bubble' to serve as an initiation zone. Pol alpha-primase recognizes the open helix region and initiates RNA-primed DNA synthesis at four specific sites that are rich in pyrimidine nucleotides. The priming site positioned nearest the ssDNA-dsDNA junction in the replication 'bubble' template is the preferred site for initiation. Using a 40 base oligonucleotide template containing the sequence of the preferred priming site, primase synthesizes RNA primers of 9 and 10 nt in length with the sequence 5'-(G)GAAGAAAGC-3'. These studies demonstrate that pol alpha-primase selects specific nucleotide sequences for RNA primer formation and suggest that the open helix structure of the replication 'bubble' directs pol alpha-primase to initiate RNA primer synthesis near the ssDNA-dsDNA junction.     

Distinct interactions of GTP,UTP, and CTP with G(s) proteins

Early studies showed that in addition to GTP, the pyrimidine nucleotides UTP and CTP support activation of the adenylyl cyclase (AC)-stimulating G(s) protein. The aim of this study was to elucidate the mechanism by which UTP and CTP support G(s) activation. As models, we used S49 wild-type lymphoma cells, representing a physiologically relevant system in which the beta(2)-adrenoreceptor (beta(2)AR) couples to G(s), and Sf9 insect cell membranes expressing beta(2)AR-Galpha(s) fusion proteins. Fusion proteins provide a higher sensitivity for the analysis of beta(2)AR-G(s) coupling than native systems. Nucleoside 5'-triphosphates (NTPs) supported agonist-stimulated AC activity in the two systems and basal AC activity in membranes from cholera toxin-treated S49 cells in the order of efficacy GTP > or = UTP > CTP > ATP (ineffective). NTPs disrupted high affinity agonist binding in beta(2)AR-Galpha(s) in the order of efficacy GTP > UTP > CTP > ATP (ineffective). In contrast, the order of efficacy of NTPs as substrates for nucleoside diphosphokinase, catalyzing the formation of GTP from GDP and NTP was ATP > or = UTP > or = CTP > or = GTP. NTPs inhibited beta(2)AR-Galpha(s)-catalyzed [gamma-(32)P]GTP hydrolysis in the order of potency GTP > UTP > CTP. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed that UTP is accommodated more easily within the binding pocket of Galpha(s) than CTP. Collectively, our data indicate that GTP, UTP, and CTP interact differentially with G(s) proteins and that transphosphorylation of GDP to GTP is not involved in this G protein activation. In certain cell systems, intracellular UTP and CTP concentrations reach approximately 10 nmol/mg of protein and are higher than intracellular GTP concentrations, indicating that G protein activation by UTP and CTP can occur physiologically. G protein activation by UTP and CTP could be of particular importance in pathological conditions such as cholera and Lesch-Nyhan syndrome.     

Effects of base damages on DNA replication--mechanism of preferential purine nucleotide insertion opposite abasic site in template DNA.

DNA polymerase preferentially inserts purine nucleotides opposite non-instructive lesions such as abasic sites during DNA replication. In order to elucidate the mechanism of the preferential insertion, a DNA template containing a model abasic site and primers containing 4 different nucleotides (A,G,C,T) at primer terminus were synthesized. The stability of the primer terminus nucleotide placed opposite the abasic site was evaluated on the basis of its sensitivity to 3'-5' exonuclease associated with DNA polymerase.     

In vitro synthesis of short DNA pieces by DNA polymerase alpha from mouse myeloma

The DNA chain elongation mechanisms of mouse DNA polymerases alpha and beta have been analyzed by using denatured DNA with a (dT)n block at the 3'-end as a template in combination with RNA ((rA)12-20)primer. The (rA)12-20-primed DNA product synthesized by DNA polymerase alpha was 3-5 s in size even after prolonged reaction; instead of a size increase, the number of 3-5 s molecules increased with the reaction time. The size of products was not affected by differences in 3H-labeled substrate (dATP or dTTP), enzyme amount, KCl concentration, or the length of 3'-(dT)n blocks. On the other hand, DNA polymerase beta synthesized long DNA products by a highly distributive reaction mechanism. 3-5 sDNA pieces synthesized by DNA polymerase alpha were not elongated any further by DNA polymerase alpha, but were converted into long DNA chains by DNA polymerase beta. The results imply that DNA polymerase alpha recognizes the size of the product DNA, and shuts off further elongation.     

Vaccinia virus poly(A) polymerase. Specificity for nucleotides and nucleotide analogs

We have studied the nucleotide specificity of vaccinia virus poly(A) polymerase using a novel primer extension assay. Oligoribonucleotide primers labeled at the 5' end with 32P were elongated by the enzyme in the presence of ATP, leading to the 3' addition of greater than 1000 adenylate residues/primer molecule. In the presence of UTP, the enzyme catalyzed 3' polymerization of long poly(U) tails, albeit at a reduced rate of chain growth. In the presence of both ATP and UTP, 3' addition was selective for ATP. The transient accumulation of RNAs elongated by 10-16 residues suggested that polyadenylation (and polyuridylation) was a biphasic reaction. Quantitative 3' addition of GMP (from GTP) or CMP (from CTP) to the primer was also observed, although the rate of chain growth was so slow as to allow synthesis of only short oligo(G) or oligo(C) tails. The deoxynucleotides 3'-dATP (cordycepin triphosphate) and ddATP were markedly inhibitory to poly(A) polymerase. Primer elongation studies were consistent with inhibition due to 3' incorporation of inhibitor and chain termination. Incubation of enzyme with [alpha-32P] cordycepin triphosphate resulted in labeling of the Mr 57,000 enzyme subunit, apparently via formation of a covalent nucleotidyl-protein complex. These data are discussed in light of their implications for the catalytic mechanism of polyadenylation.