Dormant Origins,the Licensing Checkpoint,and the Response to Replicative Stresses

Only ∼10% of replication origins that are licensed by loading minichromosome maintenance 2-7 (MCM2-7) complexes are normally used, with the majority remaining dormant. If replication fork progression is inhibited, nearby dormant origins initiate to ensure that all of the chromosomal DNA is replicated. At the same time, DNA damage-response kinases are activated, which preferentially suppress the assembly of new replication factories. This diverts initiation events away from completely new areas of the genome toward regions experiencing replicative stress. Mice hypomorphic for MCM2-7, which activate fewer dormant origins in response to replication inhibition, are cancer-prone and are genetically unstable. The licensing checkpoint delays entry into S phase if an insufficient number of origins have been licensed. In contrast, humans with Meier-Gorlin syndrome have mutations in pre-RC proteins and show defects in cell proliferation that may be a consequence of chronic activation of the licensing checkpoint.Replicating the large amount of DNA in eukaryotic cells is a complex task, requiring the activation of hundreds or thousands of origins spread throughout the genome. To maintain genetic stability, it is essential that during S phase genomic DNA is precisely duplicated, with no sections of DNA left unreplicated and no section of DNA replicated more than once. To prevent re-replication, cells divide the process of DNA replication into two non-overlapping phases. Prior to S phase, origins are licensed by the binding of minichromosome maintenance 2-7 (MCM2-7) double hexamers (Gillespie et al. 2001; Blow and Dutta 2005; Arias and Walter 2007). During S phase, these are activated as the core of the CMG (Cdc45-MCM-GINS) replicative helicase (Moyer et al. 2006; Ilves et al. 2010). Prior to the onset of S phase, licensing proteins are down-regulated or inhibited, so that no more origins can be licensed (Wohlschlegel et al. 2000; Tada et al. 2001; Li et al. 2003; Li and Blow 2005). One consequence of using this mechanism for preventing re-replication of DNA is that it is imperative that enough origins are licensed prior to S-phase entry, so that no regions of the genome remain unreplicated, even if some replication forks stall or some origins fail to initiate (Blow et al. 2011). Metazoan cells employ a licensing checkpoint to monitor that sufficient origins are licensed, inhibiting S-phase entry until this is established (Shreeram et al. 2002; Blow and Gillespie 2008).Here we review recent research showing how cells ensure complete genome duplication by licensing more replication origins in G1 than are normally used during S phase. The otherwise dormant replication origins become important for ensuring the completion of DNA replication if replication forks stall or are inhibited during S phase. We also review research showing how the licensing checkpoint ensures that a large enough number of origins are licensed before cells embark on S phase.