Membrane enrichment of genetic markers close to the origin and terminus during the deoxyribonucleic acid replication cycle in Bacillus subtilis.

A temperature-sensitive Bacillus subtilis initiation mutant was used to achieve one cycle of synchronized deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) replication. Markers near the origin of replication and the terminus were assayed for association with the cell membrane at intervals during the DNA replication cycle. DNA near the origin and terminus was found to be enriched in the membrane fraction throughout the DNA replication cycle. The magnitude of membrane enrichment or origin and terminus markers varied coincidentally, possibly as a consequence of incubating the cells at 45 degrees C.     

Deoxyribonucleic Acid-Deoxyribonucleic Acid Hybridization Assay for Replication Origin Deoxyribonucleic Acid of Escherichia coli

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-DNA hybridization on nitrocellulose filters can be used to assay for replication origin DNA from Escherichia coli if the DNA attached to the filters is enriched for the replication origin sequences. Such DNA can be readily isolated from very rapidly growing cells. When low amounts of this DNA were attached to filters, radioactively labeled DNA from the replication origin hybridized 1.7 times as well as radioactive replication terminus DNA. Under identical conditions, radioactively labeled DNA from exponentially growing cells hybridized only 1.3 times as well as radioactive replication terminus DNA. The replication origin, replication terminus, and randomly labeled DNA hybridized with similar efficiencies to filters containing DNA isolated from cells incubated in the absence of required amino acids. This DNA appeared to have all sequences present at equal frequencies. The hybridization assay was used to demonstrate that the DNA synthesized shortly after the addition of amino acids to cells previously deprived of required amino acids was primarily from the replication origin and then rapidly became similar to DNA synthesized by exponentially growing cells.     

Specific Initiation Site for Simian Virus 40 Deoxyribonucleic Acid Replication

Replicating simian virus 40 (SV40) deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecules have been isolated under conditions in which the newly synthesized DNA is uniformly labeled with (3)H-thymidine. These newly synthesized strands are released from the replicative intermediate molecules by alkaline treatment, and it has been possible to isolate single-stranded SV40 DNA which varies in size from 157,000 daltons (from molecules that are 10% replicated) to 1,360,000 daltons (85% replicated). The rates of duplex formation of newly synthesized DNA have been used to relate their genetic complexity to the extent of DNA replication. As DNA replication proceeds, the time required to effect 50% renaturation of the newly synthesized DNA increases at a proportional rate. The data establish that DNA replication is not initiated at random, but rather that there is a single specific initiation site for DNA replication.     

Adenovirus DNA Replication I. Requirement for Protein Synthesis and Isolation of Nuclear Membrane Fractions Containing Newly Synthesized Viral DNA and Proteins

Nuclear membrane fractions were prepared by two procedures from KB cells pulse labeled with [(3)H]thymidine for 5 min late after infection with adenovirus 2: (i) the M-band technique, which yields a sharp peak containing most of the newly synthesized viral DNA, and (ii) the discontinuous sucrose gradient method, which yields three membrane fractions, one which bands at the interface between sucrose layers at density 1.18 and 1.20 g/ml and contains most of the newly synthesized viral DNA. Studies using cycloheximide to inhibit protein synthesis showed that proteins whose synthesis begins early after infection and occurs in the absence of viral DNA replication are required for viral DNA synthesis late after infection. To study the nature of these proteins, nuclear membrane fractions were isolated from cells labeled with [(3)H]leucine from 6 to 24 h postinfection in the presence of arabinosyl cytosine to block viral DNA replication, and were analyzed by electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gels. Two proteins of molecular weights 75,000 and 45,000 were the major labeled polypeptides in the nuclear membrane fractions prepared from infected cells both by the M-band and the discontinuous sucrose gradient methods. These two proteins were not found in nuclear membrane fractions from uninfected cells. It is suggested that the 75,000 and 45,000 proteins may be early viral gene products that may play a role in the viral DNA replication.     

Replication of polyoma DNA in isolated nuclei: analysis of replication fork movement.

The movement of replication forks during polyoma DNA synthesis in isolated nuclei was analyzed by digesting newly synthesized DNA with the restriction endonuclease HpaII which cleaves polyoma DNA into eight unique fragments. The terminus of in vitro DNA synthesis was identified by cleaving newly completed molecules with HpaII. The distribution of label in the restriction fragments showed that the in vitro DNA synthesis was bidirectional and had the normal terminus of replication. Analysis of replicative intermediates pulse-labeled in vitro further suggested that DNA synthesis in isolated nuclei is an ordered process similar to replication in intact cells. Replication forks moved with a constant rate from the origin towards the terminus of replication. The nonlinear course of the DNA synthesis reaction in the isolated nuclei seems to result from the random inactivation of replication forks rather than a decrease in the rate of fork movement. During the in vitro synthesis a replication fork could maximally synthesize a DNA chain about 1,000 nucleotides long. The results suggest that some replication forks might be initiated in vitro at the origin of replication.     

Two membrane sites for DNA synthesis in Pneumococcus.

Summary A DNA membrane fraction extracted from pneumococci can be separated into two subfractions with respect to macromolecular composition and DNA synthesis by centrifugation in a 30–60% w/v neutral sucrose gradient. Each fraction can be rebanded in a sucrose gradient or centrifuged to equilibrium in a CsCl density gradient without altering the ability of the fractions to synthesize DNA. The fast sedimenting (heavy) fraction contains 45% of the DNA, and the bulk of the phospholipid, protein, and RNA. The light fraction contains 50% of the DNA, and lower, but significant amounts of phospholipid, RNA, and protein. Both fractions contain a DNA replication complex consisting of a number of enzymes involved in synthesizing DNA or DNA precursors, as well as RNA polymerase activity. However, the specific activity of DNA polymerase in the light fraction is much greater than that in the heavy fraction. In addition, the following results suggest that the former is concerned primarily with replication of the genome while the latter has characteristics of a repair function for the genome. (1) newly synthesized DNA can be detected within 30 s in the light fraction but not until 4 min in the heavy fraction. (2) an RNA-DNA single-stranded hybrid can be demonstrated during initial stages of DNA synthesis in the light, but not heavy fraction. (3) extensive semiconservative DNA replication occurs in the light fraction, whereas little such replication is detected in the heavy fraction. (4) DNA polymerase activity in the light fraction has several of the characteristics of a polymerase identified by others as being concerned with normal DNA replication, such as inhibition by N-ethylmaleimide, and relatively high rates of chain elongation (4.9×10⁴ nucleotides/min). In contrast, DNA polymerase activity in the heavy fraction has characteristic properties associated with DNA polymerase I, a possible repair enzyme. These include higher activity for a d(A-T)n template than that detected in the light fraction, no effect of N-ethylmaleimide, and relatively low rates of chain elongation (9×10³ nucleotides/min).     

DNA polymerase beta can substitute for DNA polymerase I in the initiation of plasmid DNA replication.

We previously demonstrated that mammalian DNA polymerase beta can substitute for DNA polymerase I of Escherichia coli in DNA replication and in base excision repair. We have now obtained genetic evidence suggesting that DNA polymerase beta can substitute for E. coli DNA polymerase I in the initiation of replication of a plasmid containing a pMB1 origin of DNA replication. Specifically, we demonstrate that a plasmid with a pMB1 origin of replication can be maintained in an E. coli polA mutant in the presence of mammalian DNA polymerase beta. Our results suggest that mammalian DNA polymerase beta can substitute for E. coli DNA polymerase I by initiating DNA replication of this plasmid from the 3' OH terminus of the RNA-DNA hybrid at the origin of replication.     

Nucleotide sequence of a fragment of SV40 DNA that contains the origin of DNA replication and specifies the 5' ends of "early" and "late" viral RNA. III. Construction of the total sequence of EcoRII-G fragment of SV40 DNA.

Limited T1 RNase digestion of subfragments of the SV40 DNA restriction endonuclease fragment EcoRII-G were prepared and analyzed. The fragments were separately labeled with 32P at their 5' terminus and the terminal sequences analyzed with limited snake venom diesterase digestion. The data permitted us to deduce the nucleotide sequence for EcoRII-G. The sequence contains a stretch of 17 A-T base pairs preceding the DNA complementary to the 5' end of "early" message RNA, a stretch of 27 bases with a perfect 2-fold rotational symmetry near the origin of DNA replication and a perfect tandem repeat of 21 nucleotides.     

Ribonucleotides associated with a gap in newly replicated kinetoplast DNA minicircles from Trypanosoma equiperdum

In Trypanosoma equiperdum, some newly replicated kinetoplast DNA minicircles contain a single gap at a unique location in their newly synthesized strand (Ntambi, J. M., and Englund, P. T. (1985) J. Biol. Chem. 260, 5574-5579). We now report that ribonucleotides are associated with this gap, with one or two covalently attached to the 5' terminus of the newly synthesized strand. There appear to be two possible RNA/DNA junctions at adjacent positions in the sequence. The ribonucleotides may be remnants of a replication primer, and their presence strongly implies that the gap is at the site of a replication origin.     

Procedure for the Preparation of Milligram Quantities of Adenovirus Messenger Ribonucleic Acid

Late after adenovirus 2 infection (18 hr), nearly all newly synthesized polysomal messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) is viral specified. Large amounts of adenovirus mRNA have been purified by utilizing membrane filtration at high ionic strength. With this procedure, molecules that contain polyadenylic acid [poly (A)] tracts are bound selectively, and ribosomal RNA can be separated from the viral mRNA which contains poly(A). Polysomal RNA synthesized 18 hr after infection was labeled in the presence of 0.02 mug of actinomycin D per ml and extracted at pH 9.0. This RNA annealed 40% to 3 mug of adenovirus 2 deoxyribonucleic acid; the RNA selected by membrane filtration bound 80% under the same conditions. The RNA eluted from membrane filters was 80 to 90% greater than 18S and contained species migrating as 31, 27, and 24S. Binding of polysomal RNA to individual membrane filters was linear, using as much as 300 mug of RNA per membrane. A 1.1-mg amount of viral RNA was prepared from 17.7 mg of polysomal RNA that had been purified by extraction at pH 9.0.     

Chromosomal sites of DNA-membrane attachment in Escherichia coli

Evidence is presented to show that both the chromosomal replication point and the chromosomal origin in Escherichia coli are associated with a structure possessing the sedimentation properties and enzyme sensitivities characteristic of membrane. The data suggest that both newly synthesized DNA strands and template DNA strands are bound at this replication point and that both strands are also bound at the origin.     

Initiation of enzymatic DNA synthesis by yeast RNA polymerase I.

In vitro DNA synthesis by yeast DNA polymerase I can be initiated by partially purified yeast RNA polymerases in the presence or absence of rNTPs. Homogeneous yeast RNA polymerase I initiates DNA synthesis by yeast DNA polymerase I on single-stranded DNA templates only in the presence of all four rNTPs. A protein capable of initiating enzymatic DNA synthesis on single-stranded DNA in the absence of rNTPs has also been separated from partially purified yeast RNA polymerase I fractions. Analysis of the RNA polymerase I initiated replication products of phage fd DNA on alkaline sucrose gradients showed noncovalent linkage between the newly synthesized DNA and the template. Isopycnic analyses of the ribonucleotide initiated fd DNA replication products demonstrated covalent linkage between the initiator RNA and newly synthesized DNA. Results from 32P-transfer experiments confirmed the covalent linkage between RNA and DNA chains and showed the presence of all four ribo- and deoxyribonucleotides at the RNA--DNA junctions. The ribonucleotide found most frequently at the RNA--DNA junction is uridylate and the purine deoxynucleotides occur more frequently than pyrimidine deoxynucleotides.     

DNA methylation at mammalian replication origins.

In Escherichia coli, DNA methylation regulates both origin usage and the time required to reassemble prereplication complexes at replication origins. In mammals, at least three replication origins are associated with a high density cluster of methylated CpG dinucleotides, and others whose methylation status has not yet been characterized have the potential to exhibit a similar DNA methylation pattern. One of these origins is found within the approximately 2-kilobase pair region upstream of the human c-myc gene that contains 86 CpGs. Application of the bisulfite method for detecting 5-methylcytosines at specific DNA sequences revealed that this region was not methylated in either total genomic DNA or newly synthesized DNA. Therefore, DNA methylation is not a universal component of mammalian replication origins. To determine whether or not DNA methylation plays a role in regulating the activity of origins that are methylated, the rate of remethylation and the effect of hypomethylation were determined at origin beta (ori-beta), downstream of the hamster DHFR gene. Remethylation at ori-beta did not begin until approximately 500 base pairs of DNA was synthesized, but it was then completed by the time that 4 kilobase pairs of DNA was synthesized (<3 min after release into S phase). Thus, DNA methylation cannot play a significant role in regulating reassembly of prereplication complexes in mammalian cells, as it does in E. coli. To determine whether or not DNA methylation plays any role in origin activity, hypomethylated hamster cells were examined for ori-beta activity. Cells that were >50% reduced in methylation at ori-beta no longer selectively activated ori-beta. Therefore, at some loci, DNA methylation either directly or indirectly determines where replication begins.     

Phenotypic characterization of temperature-sensitive mutants of vaccinia virus with mutations in a 135,000-Mr subunit of the virion-associated DNA-dependent RNA polymerase

The phenotypic defects of three temperature-sensitive (ts) mutants of vaccinia virus, the ts mutations of which were mapped to the gene for one of the high-molecular-weight subunits of the virion-associated DNA-dependent RNA polymerase, were characterized. Because the virion RNA polymerase is required for the initiation of the viral replication cycle, it has been predicted that this type of mutant is defective in viral DNA replication and the synthesis of early viral proteins at the nonpermissive temperature. However, all three mutants synthesized both DNA and early proteins, and two of the three synthesized late proteins as well. RNA synthesis in vitro by permeabilized mutant virions was not more ts than that by the wild type. Furthermore, only one of three RNA polymerase activities that was partially purified from virions assembled at the permissive temperature displayed altered biochemical properties in vitro that could be correlated with its ts mutation: the ts13 activity had reduced specific activity, increased temperature sensitivity, and increased thermolability under a variety of preincubation conditions. Although the partially purified polymerase activity of a second mutant, ts72, was also more thermolabile than the wild-type activity, the thermolability was shown to be the result of a second mutation within the RNA polymerase gene. These results suggest that the defects in these mutants affect the assembly of newly synthesized polymerase subunits into active enzyme or the incorporation of RNA polymerase into maturing virions; once synthesized at the permissive temperature, the mutant polymerases are able to function in the initiation of subsequent rounds of infection at the nonpermissive temperature.