How important is DNA replication for mutagenesis?

Rates of mutation and substitution in mammals are generally greater in the germ lines of males. This is usually explained as resulting from the larger number of germ cell divisions during spermatogenesis compared with oogenesis, with the assumption made that mutations occur primarily during DNA replication. However, the rate of cell division is not the only difference between male and female germ lines, and mechanisms are known that can give rise to mutations independently of DNA replication. We investigate the possibility that there are other causes of male-biased mutation. First, we show that patterns of variation at approximately 5,200 short tandem repeat (STR) loci indicate a higher mutation rate in males. We estimate a ratio of male-to-female mutation rates of approximately 1.9. This is significantly greater than 1 and supports a greater rate of mutation in males, affecting the evolution of these loci. Second, we show that there are chromosome-specific patterns of nucleotide and dinucleotide composition in mammals that have been shaped by mutation at CpG dinucleotides. Comparable patterns occur in birds. In mammals, male germ lines are more methylated than female germ lines, and these patterns indicate that differential methylation has played a role in male-biased vertebrate evolution. However, estimates of male mutation bias obtained from both classes of mutation are substantially lower than estimates of cell division bias from anatomical data. This discrepancy, along with published data indicating slipped-strand mispairing arising at STR loci in nonreplicating DNA, suggests that a substantial percentage of mutation may occur in nonreplicating DNA.     

Where does DNA replication start in archaea?

Genome-wide measures of DNA strand composition have been used to find archaeal DNA replication origins. Archaea seem to replicate using a single origin (as do eubacteria) even though archaeal replication factors are more like those of eukaryotes.     

Are single-stranded circles intermediates in plasmid DNA replication?

Plasmid pC194 exists as circular double-stranded and single-stranded DNA in Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus. We report here that the plasmid pHV33, composed of pBR322 and pC194, exists as double- and single-stranded DNA in Escherichia coli, provided that the replication functions of pC194 are intact. Single-stranded pHV33 DNA is converted to double-stranded DNA by complementary strand synthesis probably initiated at rriB, a primosome assembly site present on pBR322. The efficiency of complementary strand synthesis affects the double-stranded copy number, which suggests that single-stranded DNA is a plasmid replication intermediate.     

Initiation of eukaryotic DNA replication: conservative or liberal?

The mechanism for initiation of eukaryotic DNA replication is highly conserved: the proteins required to initiate replication, the sequence of events leading to initiation, and the regulation of initiation are remarkably similar throughout the eukaryotic kingdom. Nevertheless, there is a liberal attitude when it comes to selecting initiation sites. Differences appear to exist in the composition of replication origins and in the way proteins recognize these origins. In fact, some multicellular eukaryotes (the metazoans) can change the number and locations of initiation sites during animal development, revealing that selection of initiation sites depends on epigenetic as well as genetic parameters. Here we have attempted to summarize our understanding of this process, to identify the similarities and differences between single cell and multicellular eukaryotes, and to examine the extent to which origin recognition proteins and replication origins have been conserved among eukaryotes. Published 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Structural basis for error-free replication of oxidatively damaged DNA by yeast DNA polymerase η

7,8-dihydro-8-oxoguanine (8-oxoG) adducts are formed frequently by the attack of oxygen-free radicals on DNA. They are among the most mutagenic lesions in cells because of their dual coding potential, where, in addition to normal base-pairing of 8-oxoG(anti) with dCTP, 8-oxoG in the syn conformation can base pair with dATP, causing G to T transversions. We provide here for the first time a structural basis for the error-free replication of 8-oxoG lesions by yeast DNA polymerase η (Polη). We show that the open active site cleft of Polη can accommodate an 8-oxoG lesion in the anti conformation with only minimal changes to the polymerase and the bound DNA: at both the insertion and post-insertion steps of lesion bypass. Importantly, the active site geometry remains the same as in the undamaged complex and provides a basis for the ability of Polη to prevent the mutagenic replication of 8-oxoG lesions in cells.     

Inheritance of the replication complex: a unique or common phenomenon in the control of DNA replication?

Early models of the regulation of initiation of DNA replication by protein complexes predicted that binding of a replication initiator protein to a replicator region is required for initiation of each DNA replication round, since after the initiation event the replication initiator should dissociate from DNA. It was, therefore, assumed that binding of the replication initiator is a signal for triggering DNA replication. However, more recent investigations have revealed that in many replicons this is not the case. Studies on the regulation of the replication of plasmids derived from bacteriophage lambda demonstrated that, once assembled, the replication complex can be inherited by one of the two daughter plasmid copies after each replication round and may function in subsequent replication rounds. Since this DNA-bound protein complex bears information about specific initiation of DNA replication, this phenomenon has been called "protein inheritance." A similar phenomenon has recently been reported for oriJ-based plasmids. Moreover, the current model of the initiation of DNA replication in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae proposes that the origin recognition complex (ORC) remains bound to one copy of the ori sequence (the ARS region) after initiation of DNA replication. Thus, it seems plausible that protein inheritance is not unique for lambda plasmids, but may be a common phenomenon in the control of DNA replication, at least in microbes.     

Cooperation of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase with DNA polymerase α in the replication of ultraviolet-irradiated DNA

The amount of DNA synthesis in vitro with the ultraviolet-irradiated poly-(dT) · oligo(rA) template initiators catalysed by DNA polymerase α (Masaki, S. and Yoshida, S., Biochim. Biophys. Acta 521, 74–88) decreased with the dose of ultraviolet-irradiation. The ultraviolet irradiation to the template, however, did not affect the rate of incorporation of incorrect deoxynycleotides into the newly synthesized poly(dA). The addition of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase to this system enhanced the DNA synthesis to a level which is comparable to that of the control and it concomitantly increased the incorporation of the mismatched deoxynucleotide into the newly synthesized poly(dA) strands. On the other hand, with an unirradiated template initiator, the misincorporation was only slightly enhanced by the addition of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase. The sizes of newly synthesized DNA measured by the sedimentation velocities were found to be smaller with the ultraviolet-irradiated templates but they increased to the control level with the addition of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase to the systems. These results suggest that terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase can help DNA polymerase α to ‘bypass’ thymine dimers in vitro by the formation of mismatched regions at the positions opposite to pyrimidine dimers on the template.     

Does capacity of DNA replication change during in vitro ageing?

We described elsewhere how a lack of change in the rate of DNA chain elongation occurred during in vitro ageing of human diploid fibroblasts. Here we further examined the rate of actual incorporation of tritiated thymidine, the center-to-center distance of replicons and the length of each phase of the cell cycle in order to extend our previous results to the other aspects of DNA replication. The results obtained showed that the rate of net DNA synthesis, the replicon size and the duration of S phase did not change during in vitro ageing. Our findings indicated that the reason why the greater part of the cell population at high population doubling levels becomes incapable of proliferating might not be the gradual decline in the ability of DNA replication. The regulation system(s) of DNA replication may alter during the period of culturing without any change in the capacities of the DNA replication machinery and, consequently, the non-cycling cells increase.     

DNA — protein interactions during replication of Genetic elements of bacteria

Specific interactions of DNA with proteins are required for both the replication of deoxyribonucleic acid proper and its regulation. Genetic elements of bacteria, their extrachromosomal elements in particular, represent a suitable model system for studies of these processes at the molecular level. In addition to replication enzymes (DNA polymerases), a series of other protein factors (e.g. topoisomerases, DNA unwinding enzymes, and DNA binding proteins) are involved in the replication of the chromosomal, phage and plasmid DNA. Specific interactions of proteins with DNA are particularly important in the regulation of initiation of DNA synthesis. Association of DNAs with the cell membrane also plays an important role in their replication in bacteria.     

Radiation induced DNA DSBs: Contribution from stalled replication forks?

When cells are exposed to radiation serious lesions are introduced into the DNA including double strand breaks (DSBs), single strand breaks (SSBs), base modifications and clustered damage sites (a specific feature of ionizing radiation induced DNA damage). Radiation induced DNA damage has the potential to initiate events that can lead ultimately to mutations and the onset of cancer and therefore understanding the cellular responses to DNA lesions is of particular importance. Using γH2AX as a marker for DSB formation and RAD51 as a marker of homologous recombination (HR) which is recruited in the processing of frank DSBs or DSBs arising from stalled replication forks, we have investigated the contribution of SSBs and non-DSB DNA damage to the induction of DSBs in mammalian cells by ionizing radiation during the cell cycle. V79-4 cells and human HF19 fibroblast cells have been either irradiated with 0–20 Gy of γ radiation or, for comparison, treated with a low concentration of hydrogen peroxide, which is known to induce SSBs but not DSBs. Inhibition of the repair of oxidative DNA lesions by poly(ADP ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor leads to an increase in radiation induced γH2AX and RAD51 foci which we propose is due to these lesions colliding with replication forks forming replication induced DSBs. It was confirmed that DSBs are not induced in G₁ phase cells by treatment with hydrogen peroxide but treatment does lead to DSB induction, specifically in S phase cells. We therefore suggest that radiation induced SSBs and non-DSB DNA damage contribute to the formation of replication induced DSBs, detected as RAD51 foci.