PARP Activity Fine-tunes the DNA Replication Choreography of Chk1-depleted Cells

Checkpoint Kinase 1 (Chk1) prevents DNA damage by adjusting the replication choreography in the face of replication stress. Chk1 depletion provokes slow and asymmetrical fork movement, yet the signals governing such changes remain unclear. We sought to investigate whether poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARPs), key players of the DNA damage response, intervene in the DNA replication of Chk1-depleted cells. We demonstrate that PARP inhibition selectively alleviates the reduced fork elongation rates, without relieving fork asymmetry in Chk1-depleted cells. While the contribution of PARPs to fork elongation is not unprecedented, we found that their role in Chk1-depleted cells extends beyond fork movement. PARP-dependent fork deceleration induced mild dormant origin firing upon Chk1 depletion, augmenting the global rates of DNA synthesis. Thus, we have identified PARPs as novel regulators of replication fork dynamics in Chk1-depleted cells.     

CRISPR-dependent Base Editing Screens Identify Separation of Function Mutants of RADX with Altered RAD51 Regulatory Activity

RAD51 forms nucleoprotein filaments to promote homologous recombination, replication fork reversal, and fork protection. Numerous factors regulate the stability of these filaments and improper regulation leads to genomic instability and ultimately disease including cancer. RADX is a single stranded DNA binding protein that modulates RAD51 filament stability. Here, we utilize a CRISPR-dependent base editing screen to tile mutations across RADX to delineate motifs required for RADX function. We identified separation of function mutants of RADX that bind DNA and RAD51 but have a reduced ability to stimulate its ATP hydrolysis activity. Cells expressing these RADX mutants accumulate RAD51 on chromatin, exhibit replication defects, have reduced growth, accumulate DNA damage, and are hypersensitive to DNA damage and replication stress. These results indicate that RADX must promote RAD51 ATP turnover to regulate RAD51 and genome stability during DNA replication.     

Rad51 replication fork recruitment is required for DNA damage tolerance

Homologous recombination (HR) is essential for genome integrity. Recombination proteins participate in tolerating DNA lesions that interfere with DNA replication, but can also generate toxic recombination intermediates and genetic instability when they are not properly regulated. Here, we have studied the role of the recombination proteins Rad51 and Rad52 at replication forks and replicative DNA lesions. We show that Rad52 loads Rad51 onto unperturbed replication forks, where they facilitate replication of alkylated DNA by non‐repair functions. The recruitment of Rad52 and Rad51 to chromatin during DNA replication is a prerequisite for the repair of the non‐DSB DNA lesions, presumably single‐stranded DNA gaps, which are generated during the replication of alkylated DNA. We also show that the repair of these lesions requires CDK1 and is not coupled to the fork but rather restricted to G2/M by the replicative checkpoint. We propose a new scenario for HR where Rad52 and Rad51 are recruited to the fork to promote DNA damage tolerance by distinct and cell cycle‐regulated replicative and repair functions.     

Cleavage of model replication forks by fission yeast Mus81-Eme1 and budding yeast Mus81-Mms4

The blockage of replication forks can result in the disassembly of the replicative apparatus and reversal of the fork to form a DNA junction that must be processed in order for replication to restart and sister chromatids to segregate at mitosis. Fission yeast Mus81-Eme1 and budding yeast Mus81-Mms4 are endonucleases that have been implicated in the processing of aberrant DNA junctions formed at stalled replication forks. Here we have investigated the activity of purified Mus81-Eme1 and Mus81-Mms4 on substrates that resemble DNA junctions that are expected to form when a replication fork reverses. Both enzymes cleave Holliday junctions and substrates that resemble normal replication forks poorly or not at all. However, forks where the equivalents of either both the leading and lagging strands or just the lagging strand are juxtaposed at the junction point, or where either the leading or lagging strand has been unwound to produce a fork with a single-stranded tail, are cleaved well. Cleavage sites map predominantly between 3 and 6 bp 5' of the junction point. For most substrates the leading strand template is cleaved. The sole exception is a fork with a 5' single-stranded tail, which is cleaved in the lagging strand template.     

Cooperation of RAD51 and RAD54 in regression of a model replication fork

DNA lesions cause stalling of DNA replication forks, which can be lethal for the cell. Homologous recombination (HR) plays an important role in DNA lesion bypass. It is thought that Rad51, a key protein of HR, contributes to the DNA lesion bypass through its DNA strand invasion activity. Here, using model stalled replication forks we found that RAD51 and RAD54 by acting together can promote DNA lesion bypass in vitro through the 'template-strand switch' mechanism. This mechanism involves replication fork regression into a Holliday junction ('chicken foot structure'), DNA synthesis using the nascent lagging DNA strand as a template and fork restoration. Our results demonstrate that RAD54 can catalyze both regression and restoration of model replication forks through its branch migration activity, but shows strong bias toward fork restoration. We find that RAD51 modulates this reaction; by inhibiting fork restoration and stimulating fork regression it promotes accumulation of the chicken foot structure, which we show is essential for DNA lesion bypass by DNA polymerase in vitro. These results indicate that RAD51 in cooperation with RAD54 may have a new role in DNA lesion bypass that is distinct from DNA strand invasion.     

The eukaryotic replisome tolerates leading‐strand base damage by replicase switching

The high‐fidelity replicative DNA polymerases, Pol ε and Pol δ, are generally thought to be poorly equipped to replicate damaged DNA. Direct and complete replication of a damaged template therefore typically requires the activity of low‐fidelity translesion synthesis (TLS) polymerases. Here we show that a yeast replisome, reconstituted with purified proteins, is inherently tolerant of the common oxidative lesion thymine glycol (Tg). Surprisingly, leading‐strand Tg was bypassed efficiently in the presence and absence of the TLS machinery. Our data reveal that following helicase–polymerase uncoupling a switch from Pol ε, the canonical leading‐strand replicase, to the lagging‐strand replicase Pol δ, facilitates rapid, efficient and error‐free lesion bypass at physiological nucleotide levels. This replicase switch mechanism also promotes bypass of the unrelated oxidative lesion, 8‐oxoguanine. We propose that replicase switching may promote continued leading‐strand synthesis whenever the replisome encounters leading‐strand damage that is bypassed more efficiently by Pol δ than by Pol ε.     

SAW1 is increasingly required to recruit Rad10 as SSA flap-length increases from 20 to 50 bases in single-strand annealing in S. cerevisiae

SAW1 is required by the Rad1-Rad10 nuclease for efficient removal of 3′ non-homologous DNA ends (flaps) formed as intermediates during two modes of double-strand break repair in S. cerevisiae, single-strand annealing (SSA) and synthesis-dependent strand annealing (SDSA). Saw1 was shown in vitro to exhibit increasing affinity for flap DNAs as flap lengths varied from 0 to 40 deoxynucleotides (nt) with almost no binding observed when flaps were shorter than 10 nt. Accordingly, our prior in vivo fluorescence microscopy investigation showed that SAW1 was not required for recruitment of Rad10-YFP to DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) when flaps were ～10 nt, but it was required when flaps were ～500 nt in G1 phase of the cell cycle. We were curious whether we would also observe an increased requirement of SAW1 for Rad10 recruitment in vivo as flaps varied from ～20 to 50 nt, as was shown in vitro. In this investigation, we utilized SSA substrates that generate 20, 30, and 50 nt flaps in vivo in fluorescence microscopy assays and determined that SAW1 becomes increasingly necessary for SSA starting at about ～20 nt and is completely required at ～50 nt. Quantitative PCR experiments corroborate these results by demonstrating that repair product formation decreases in the absence of SAW1 as flap length increases. Experiments with strains containing fluorescently labeled Saw1 (Saw1-CFP) show that Saw1 localizes with Rad10 at SSA foci and that about half of the foci containing Rad10 at DSBs do not contain Saw1. Colocalization patterns of Saw1-CFP are consistent regardless of the flap length of the substrate and are roughly similar in all phases of the cell cycle. Together, these data show that Saw1 becomes increasingly important for Rad1-Rad10 recruitment and SSA repair in the ～20–50 nt flap range, and Saw1 is present at repair sites even when not required and may depart the repair site ahead of Rad1-Rad10.     

Gaps and forks in DNA replication: Rediscovering old models

Most current models for replication past damaged lesions envisage that translesion synthesis occurs at the replication fork. However older models suggested that gaps were left opposite lesions to allow the replication fork to proceed, and these gaps were subsequently sealed behind the replication fork. Two recent articles lend support to the idea that bypass of the damage occurs behind the fork. In the first paper, electron micrographs of DNA replicated in UV-irradiated yeast cells show regions of single-stranded DNA both at the replication forks and behind the fork, the latter being consistent with the presence of gaps in the daughter-strands opposite lesions. The second paper describes an in vitro DNA replication system reconstituted from purified bacterial proteins. Repriming of synthesis downstream from a blocked fork occurred not only on the lagging strand as expected, but also on the leading strand, demonstrating that contrary to widely accepted beliefs, leading strand synthesis does not need to be continuous.     

Coordinated leading and lagging strand synthesis during SV40 DNA replication in vitro requires PCNA

Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) is a cell cycle and growth regulated protein required for replication of SV40 DNA in vitro. Its function was investigated by comparison of the replication products synthesized in its presence or absence. In the completely reconstituted replication system that contains PCNA, DNA synthesis initiates at the origin and proceeds bidirectionally on both leading and lagging strands around the template DNA to yield duplex, circular daughter molecules. In contrast, in the absence of PCNA, early replicative intermediates containing short nascent strands accumulate. Replication forks continue bidirectionally from the origin, but surprisingly, only lagging strand products are synthesized. Thus two stages of DNA synthesis have been defined, with the second stage requiring PCNA for coordinated leading and lagging strand synthesis at the replication fork. We suggest that during eukaryotic chromosome replication there is a switch to a PCNA-dependent elongation stage that requires two distinct DNA polymerases.     

Repriming DNA synthesis: an intrinsic restart pathway that maintains efficient genome replication

To bypass a diverse range of fork stalling impediments encountered during genome replication, cells possess a variety of DNA damage tolerance (DDT) mechanisms including translesion synthesis, template switching, and fork reversal. These pathways function to bypass obstacles and allow efficient DNA synthesis to be maintained. In addition, lagging strand obstacles can also be circumvented by downstream priming during Okazaki fragment generation, leaving gaps to be filled post-replication. Whether repriming occurs on the leading strand has been intensely debated over the past half-century. Early studies indicated that both DNA strands were synthesised discontinuously. Although later studies suggested that leading strand synthesis was continuous, leading to the preferred semi-discontinuous replication model. However, more recently it has been established that replicative primases can perform leading strand repriming in prokaryotes. An analogous fork restart mechanism has also been identified in most eukaryotes, which possess a specialist primase called PrimPol that conducts repriming downstream of stalling lesions and structures. PrimPol also plays a more general role in maintaining efficient fork progression. Here, we review and discuss the historical evidence and recent discoveries that substantiate repriming as an intrinsic replication restart pathway for maintaining efficient genome duplication across all domains of life.     

Chromatin assembly controls replication fork stability

During DNA replication, the advance of replication forks is tightly connected with chromatin assembly, a process that can be impaired by the partial depletion of histone H4 leading to recombinogenic DNA damage. Here, we show that the partial depletion of H4 is rapidly followed by the collapse of unperturbed and stalled replication forks, even though the S‐phase checkpoints remain functional. This collapse is characterized by a reduction in the amount of replication intermediates, but an increase in single Ys relative to bubbles, defects in the integrity of the replisome and an accumulation of DNA double‐strand breaks. This collapse is also associated with an accumulation of Rad52‐dependent X‐shaped molecules. Consistently, a Rad52‐dependent—although Rad51‐independent—mechanism is able to rescue these broken replication forks. Our findings reveal that correct nucleosome deposition is required for replication fork stability, and provide molecular evidence for homologous recombination as an efficient mechanism of replication fork restart.     

In silico reconstitution of DNA replication. Lessons from single-molecule imaging and cryo-tomography applied to single-particle cryo-EM

DNA replication has been reconstituted in vitro with yeast proteins, and the minimal system requires the coordinated assembly of 16 distinct replication factors, consisting of 42 polypeptides. To understand the molecular interplay between these factors at the single residue level, new structural biology tools are being developed. Inspired by advances in single-molecule fluorescence imaging and cryo-tomography, novel single-particle cryo-EM experiments have been used to characterise the structural mechanism for the loading of the replicative helicase. Here, we discuss how in silico reconstitution of single-particle cryo-EM data can help describe dynamic systems that are difficult to approach with conventional three-dimensional classification tools.     

PCNA modifications for regulation of post-replication repair pathways

Stalled DNA replication forks activate specific DNA repair mechanism called post-replication repair (PRR) pathways that simply bypass DNA damage. The bypassing of DNA damage by PRR prevents prolonged stalling of DNA replication that could result in double strand breaks (DSBs). Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) functions to initiate and choose different bypassing pathways of PRR. In yeast, DNA replication forks stalled by DNA damage induces monoubiquitination of PCNA at K164, which is catalyzed by Rad6/Rad18 complex. PCNA monoubiquitination triggers the replacement of replicative polymerase with special translesion synthesis (TLS) polymerases that are able to replicate past DNA lesions. The PCNA interaction motif and/or the ubiquitin binding motif in most TLS polymerases seem to be important for the regulation of TLS. The TLS pathway is usually error-prone because TLS polymerases have low fidelity and no proofreading activity. PCNA can also be further polyubiquitinated by Ubc13/ Mms2/Rad5 complex, which adds an ubiquitin chain onto monoubiquitinated K164 of PCNA. PCNA polyubiquitination directs a different PRR pathway known as error-free damage avoidance, which uses the newly synthesized sister chromatid as a template to bypass DNA damage presumably through template switching mechanism. Mammalian homologues of all of the yeast PRR proteins have been identified, thus PRR is well conserved throughout evolution. Mutations of some PRR genes are associated with a higher risk for cancers in mice and human patients, strongly supporting the importance of PRR as a tumor suppressor pathway.     

Functional analysis of DNA replication fork reversal catalyzed by Mycobacterium tuberculosis RuvAB proteins

Initially discovered in Escherichia coli, RuvAB proteins are ubiquitous in bacteria and play a dual role as molecular motor proteins responsible for branch migration of the Holliday junction(s) and reversal of stalled replication forks. Despite mounting genetic evidence for a crucial role of RuvA and RuvB proteins in reversal of stalled replication forks, the mechanistic aspects of this process are still not fully understood. Here, we elucidate the ability of Mycobacterium tuberculosis RuvAB (MtRuvAB) complex to catalyze the reversal of replication forks using a range of DNA replication fork substrates. Our studies show that MtRuvAB, unlike E. coli RuvAB, is able to drive replication fork reversal via the formation of Holliday junction intermediates, suggesting that RuvAB-catalyzed fork reversal involves concerted unwinding and annealing of nascent leading and lagging strands. We also demonstrate the reversal of replication forks carrying hemi-replicated DNA, indicating that MtRuvAB complex-catalyzed fork reversal is independent of symmetry at the fork junction. The fork reversal reaction catalyzed by MtRuvAB is coupled to ATP hydrolysis, is processive, and culminates in the formation of an extended reverse DNA arm. Notably, we found that sequence heterology failed to impede the fork reversal activity of MtRuvAB. We discuss the implications of these results in the context of recognition and processing of varied types of replication fork structures by RuvAB proteins.     

Human HEL308 localizes to damaged replication forks and unwinds lagging strand structures

HEL308 is a superfamily II DNA helicase, conserved from archaea through to humans. HEL308 family members were originally isolated by their similarity to the Drosophila melanogaster Mus308 protein, which contributes to the repair of replication-blocking lesions such as DNA interstrand cross-links. Biochemical studies have established that human HEL308 is an ATP-dependent enzyme that unwinds DNA with a 3' to 5' polarity, but little else is know about its mechanism. Here, we show that GFP-tagged HEL308 localizes to replication forks following camptothecin treatment. Moreover, HEL308 colocalizes with two factors involved in the repair of damaged forks by homologous recombination, Rad51 and FANCD2. Purified HEL308 requires a 3' single-stranded DNA region to load and unwind duplex DNA structures. When incubated with substrates that model stalled replication forks, HEL308 preferentially unwinds the parental strands of a structure that models a fork with a nascent lagging strand, and the unwinding action of HEL308 is specifically stimulated by human replication protein A. Finally, we show that HEL308 appears to target and unwind from the junction between single-stranded to double-stranded DNA on model fork structures. Together, our results suggest that one role for HEL308 at sites of blocked replication might be to open up the parental strands to facilitate the loading of subsequent factors required for replication restart.     

RPA-like single-stranded DNA-binding protein complexes including CST serve as specialized processivity factors for polymerases

Telomeres and other single-stranded regions of the genome require specialized management to maintain stability and for proper progression of DNA metabolism pathways. Human Replication Protein A and CTC1-STN1-TEN1 are structurally similar heterotrimeric protein complexes that have essential ssDNA-binding roles in DNA replication, repair, and telomeres. Yeast and ciliates have related ssDNA-binding proteins with strikingly conserved structural features to these human heterotrimeric protein complexes. Recent breakthrough structures have extended our understanding of these commonalities by illuminating a common mechanism used by these proteins to act as processivity factors for their partner polymerases through their ability to manage ssDNA.     

Spatial separation between replisome‐ and template‐induced replication stress signaling

Polymerase‐blocking DNA lesions are thought to elicit a checkpoint response via accumulation of single‐stranded DNA at stalled replication forks. However, as an alternative to persistent fork stalling, re‐priming downstream of lesions can give rise to daughter‐strand gaps behind replication forks. We show here that the processing of such structures by an exonuclease, Exo1, is required for timely checkpoint activation, which in turn prevents further gap erosion in S phase. This Rad9‐dependent mechanism of damage signaling is distinct from the Mrc1‐dependent, fork‐associated response to replication stress induced by conditions such as nucleotide depletion or replisome‐inherent problems, but reminiscent of replication‐independent checkpoint activation by single‐stranded DNA. Our results indicate that while replisome stalling triggers a checkpoint response directly at the stalled replication fork, the response to replication stress elicited by polymerase‐blocking lesions mainly emanates from Exo1‐processed, postreplicative daughter‐strand gaps, thus offering a mechanistic explanation for the dichotomy between replisome‐ versus template‐induced checkpoint signaling.