The ATPase Cycle of PcrA Helicase and Its Coupling to Translocation on DNA

The superfamily 1 bacterial helicase PcrA has a role in the replication of certain plasmids, acting with the initiator protein (RepD) that binds to and nicks the double-stranded origin of replication. PcrA also translocates single-stranded DNA with discrete steps of one base per ATP hydrolyzed. Individual rate constants have been determined for the DNA helicase PcrA ATPase cycle when bound to either single-stranded DNA or a double-stranded DNA junction that also has RepD bound. The fluorescent ATP analogue 2′(3′)-O-(N-methylanthraniloyl)ATP was used throughout all experiments to provide a complete ATPase cycle for a single nucleotide species. Fluorescence intensity and anisotropy stopped-flow measurements were used to determine rate constants for binding and release. Quenched-flow measurements provided the kinetics of the hydrolytic cleavage step. The fluorescent phosphate sensor MDCC-PBP was used to measure phosphate release kinetics. The chemical cleavage step is the rate-limiting step in the cycle and is essentially irreversible and would result in the bound ATP complex being a major component at steady state. This cleavage step is greatly accelerated by bound DNA, producing the high activation of this protein compared to the protein alone. The data suggest the possibility that ADP is released in two steps, which would result in bound ADP also being a major intermediate, with bound ADP·P_i being a very small component. It therefore seems likely that the major transition in structure occurs during the cleavage step, rather than P_i release. ATP rebinding could then cause reversal of this structural transition. The kinetic mechanism of the PcrA ATPase cycle is very little changed by potential binding to RepD, supporting the idea that RepD increases the processivity of PcrA by increasing affinity to DNA rather than affecting the enzymatic properties per se.     

RecD2 Helicase Limits Replication Fork Stress in Bacillus subtilis

DNA helicases have important roles in genome maintenance. The RecD helicase has been well studied as a component of the heterotrimeric RecBCD helicase-nuclease enzyme important for double-strand break repair in Escherichia coli. Interestingly, many bacteria lack RecBC and instead contain a RecD2 helicase, which is not known to function as part of a larger complex. Depending on the organism studied, RecD2 has been shown to provide resistance to a broad range of DNA-damaging agents while also contributing to mismatch repair (MMR). Here we investigated the importance of Bacillus subtilis RecD2 helicase to genome integrity. We show that deletion of recD2 confers a modest increase in the spontaneous mutation rate and that the mutational signature in ΔrecD2 cells is not consistent with an MMR defect, indicating a new function for RecD2 in B. subtilis. To further characterize the role of RecD2, we tested the deletion strain for sensitivity to DNA-damaging agents. We found that loss of RecD2 in B. subtilis sensitized cells to several DNA-damaging agents that can block or impair replication fork movement. Measurement of replication fork progression in vivo showed that forks collapse more frequently in ΔrecD2 cells, supporting the hypothesis that RecD2 is important for normal replication fork progression. Biochemical characterization of B. subtilis RecD2 showed that it is a 5′-3′ helicase and that it directly binds single-stranded DNA binding protein. Together, our results highlight novel roles for RecD2 in DNA replication which help to maintain replication fork integrity during normal growth and when forks encounter DNA damage.     

Bloom DNA Helicase Facilitates Homologous Recombination between Diverged Homologous Sequences

Bloom syndrome caused by inactivation of the Bloom DNA helicase (Blm) is characterized by increases in the level of sister chromatid exchange, homologous recombination (HR) associated with cross-over. It is therefore believed that Blm works as an anti-recombinase. Meanwhile, in Drosophila, DmBlm is required specifically to promote the synthesis-dependent strand anneal (SDSA), a type of HR not associating with cross-over. However, conservation of Blm function in SDSA through higher eukaryotes has been a matter of debate. Here, we demonstrate the function of Blm in SDSA type HR in chicken DT40 B lymphocyte line, where Ig gene conversion diversifies the immunoglobulin V gene through intragenic HR between diverged homologous segments. This reaction is initiated by the activation-induced cytidine deaminase enzyme-mediated uracil formation at the V gene, which in turn converts into abasic site, presumably leading to a single strand gap. Ig gene conversion frequency was drastically reduced in BLM^−/− cells. In addition, BLM^−/− cells used limited donor segments harboring higher identity compared with other segments in Ig gene conversion event, suggesting that Blm can promote HR between diverged sequences. To further understand the role of Blm in HR between diverged homologous sequences, we measured the frequency of gene targeting induced by an I-SceI-endonuclease-mediated double-strand break. BLM^−/− cells showed a severer defect in the gene targeting frequency as the number of heterologous sequences increased at the double-strand break site. Conversely, the overexpression of Blm, even an ATPase-defective mutant, strongly stimulated gene targeting. In summary, Blm promotes HR between diverged sequences through a novel ATPase-independent mechanism.The RecQ helicases, a subfamily of DNA helicases, carry out the unwinding of duplex DNA in the 3′ to 5′ direction. Homologs of RecQ have been identified in a wide range of organisms, from budding yeast to humans (reviewed in Ref. 1). There are five human RecQ family proteins: Blm, Wrn, RecQ1, RecQ4, and RecQ5. The BLM, WRN, and RECQ4 genes are mutated in Bloom syndrome, Werner syndrome, and Rothmund-Thomson syndrome, respectively (1–3). A hallmark of Bloom syndrome cells is the drastic increase in the level of sister chromatid exchange (SCE),⁴ which results from homologous recombination (HR) associated with cross-over of the DNA damage caused during DNA replication (4, 5). It is therefore believed that Blm acts as an anti-recombination factor and inhibits aberrant recombination. This idea is supported by the observation that Sgs1, the yeast ortholog of Blm, facilitates the resolution of aberrant joint molecules during meiotic HR (6, 7) and following replication blockage (8).HR plays a critical role in the maintenance of genome stability by repairing DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) and releasing replication blockages at damaged template strands (9, 10). The current model for HR-mediated DSB repair is that DSBs are processed to produce a 3′ single-stranded overhang, along which Rad51 is polymerized (11, 12). The resulting Rad51-DNA filament undergoes homology search and strand invasion into intact homologous duplex DNA, leading to the formation of the D-loop structure. DNA synthesis from the invading strand followed by dissociation from the homologous duplex DNA and subsequent re-annealing of the newly synthesized strand with the other end of the DSB completes the repair. This type of HR, referred to as synthesis-dependent strand anneal (SDSA), results in sequence transfer from the intact template sequence (donor) to the damaged DNA (recipient), and accounts for the majority of mitotic HR (11, 13). Extensive strand exchange of the D-loop, on the other hand, leads to the generation of Holliday junction (HJ) intermediates. SDSA does not cause cross-overs, whereas HR involving the Holliday junction often causes cross-overs, such as SCE and meiotic HR. An increase in the level of SCE in Bloom syndrome cells therefore supports the idea that Blm suppresses the formation of HJ as well as recombinogenic DNA lesions. This idea is supported by the biochemical evidence of the Blm-dependent resolution of Holliday junctions (14). On the other hand, in Drosophila, DmBlm is known to facilitate the repair of DSB by promoting SDSA (15, 16). However, the role of Blm in SDSA in the other higher eukaryotic cells has not been defined.BLM^−/− cells established from the chicken DT40 B lymphocyte line exhibit a marked increase in the frequency of both SCE and targeted integration (17–19), as do human Bloom syndrome cells (20, 21). In this study, using the chicken DT40 cells, we investigated the role of Blm in SDSA induced by defined DNA damage. To this end, we evaluated this type of SDSA using two phenotypic assays designed to analyze Ig gene conversion and DSB-induced gene targeting. Ig gene conversion diversifies the Ig variable (V) gene through HR during in vitro passage. This reaction is initiated by activation-induced cytidine deaminase-mediated uracil formation at the functional rearranged V-region (22–24). Uracil is converted to an abasic site, probably leading to a single-strand gap (25). This lesion in the functional rearranged VJ_λ stimulates the nonreciprocal sequence transfer of a single nucleotide to several hundred nucleotides, from an array of “pseudo-V_λ” regions (donor), located upstream from the functional rearranged VJ_λ, to the rearranged V region (recipient) (26–28) (see Fig. 1A). Because donor and recipient segments have an ∼10% sequence divergence, sequential Ig gene conversion events are able to substantially diversify Ig V segments. Ig gene conversion is raised only by SDSA without the formation of a Holliday junction. Hence, phenotypic analysis of Ig gene conversion provides a unique opportunity to selectively examine the role of Blm in activation-induced cytidine deaminase-induced SDSA. Moreover, nucleotide sequence analysis of Ig gene conversion products can evaluate the accuracy of HR. Like Ig gene conversion, DSB-induced gene targeting is mediated only by SDSA. The induction of DSBs by a rare-cutting endonuclease, I-SceI, at the endogenous locus, increases the frequency of gene targeting by 3 orders of magnitudes, and the frequency of gene targeting can be evaluated by measuring the reconstitution of a marker gene (29) (see Fig. 1B).Open in a separate windowFIGURE 1.Schematic diagram of assay systems used in this study. A, principle of the Ig gene conversion assay. The predominantly sIgM-negative DT40 clone contains a frameshift in its rearranged V-J_λ segments, which can be repaired by pseudogene-templated conversion events. The rate of Ig gene conversion can be measured in subclones by flow cytometric analysis of sIgM staining. B, phenotypic assays of Ig gene conversion and DSB-induced gene targeting. Pseudo-V genes and the targeting fragment act as donors for the rearranged V_λ segment and S2neo, respectively.We here show that the loss of Blm drastically reduces the rate of Ig gene conversion without compromising its accuracy or affecting the length of the gene conversion tracts, indicating that Blm plays a role in the promotion of SDSA. This is an unexpected result, because Blm is in fact believed to suppress general HR reactions, particularly recombination between diverged homologous sequences. To understand the function of Blm in SDSA, we analyzed the effect of heterologous sequences near a DSB site on HR-dependent DSB repair. The data demonstrate that Blm can promote SDSA when there is sequence divergence between the damaged recipient DNA and the homologous donor sequence. Thus, Blm has both positive and negative effects on HR, depending upon the type of DNA damage and the step of the HR reaction.     

一种新的DNA复制和转录模型

DNA复制和转录有两种模型,一种是传统的滑动模型,复制和转录发生时参与反应的蛋白质沿DNA模板滑动.在另一种新提出的工厂模型中,固定在核结构上的蛋白质拉动模板来完成DNA的复制和转录.来自生物化学、生物物理学和细胞生物学等的实验证据表明,新的工厂模型是生物活体细胞内真实的复制和转录模式.     

The Replication Initiation Protein Sld2 Regulates Helicase Assembly

Assembly of the Cdc45-Mcm2-7-GINS (CMG) replicative helicase complex must be regulated to ensure that DNA unwinding is coupled with DNA synthesis. Sld2 is required for the initiation of DNA replication in budding yeast. We identified a mutant of Sld2, Sld2-m1,4, that is specifically defective in Mcm2-7 binding. When this sld2-m1,4 mutant is expressed, cells exhibit severe inhibition of DNA replication. Furthermore, the CMG complex assembles prematurely in G₁ in mutant cells, but not wild-type cells. These data suggest that Sld2 binding to Mcm2-7 is essential to block the inappropriate formation of a CMG helicase complex in G₁. We also study a mutant of Sld2 that is defective in binding DNA, sld2-DNA, and find that sld2-DNA cells exhibit no GINS-Mcm2-7 interaction. These data suggest that Sld2 association with DNA is required for CMG assembly in S phase.     

Cdc45 Protein-Single-stranded DNA Interaction Is Important for Stalling the Helicase during Replication Stress

Replicative polymerase stalling is coordinated with replicative helicase stalling in eukaryotes, but the mechanism underlying this coordination is not known. Cdc45 activates the Mcm2-7 helicase. We report here that Cdc45 from budding yeast binds tightly to long (≥ 40 nucleotides) genomic single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) and that 60mer ssDNA specifically disrupts the interaction between Cdc45 and Mcm2-7. We identified a mutant of Cdc45 that does not bind to ssDNA. When this mutant of cdc45 is expressed in budding yeast cells exposed to hydroxyurea, cell growth is severely inhibited, and excess RPA accumulates at or near an origin. Chromatin immunoprecipitation suggests that helicase movement is uncoupled from polymerase movement for mutant cells exposed to hydroxyurea. These data suggest that Cdc45-ssDNA interaction is important for stalling the helicase during replication stress.     

PcrA is an essential DNA helicase of Bacillus subtilis fulfilling functions both in repair and rolling-circle replication

The only DNA helicase essential for Escherichia coli viability is DnaB, the chromosome replication fork helicase. In contrast, in Bacillus subtilis , in addition to the DnaB counterpart called DnaC, we have found a second essential DNA helicase, called PcrA. It is 40% identical to the Rep and UvrD DNA helicases of E. coli and 61% identical to the PcrA helicase of Staphylococcus aureus . This gene is located at 55° on the chromosome and belongs to a putative operon together with a ligase gene ( lig ) and two unknown genes named pcrB and yerH . As PcrA was essential for cell viability, conditional mutants were constructed. In such mutants, chromosomal DNA synthesis was slightly decreased upon PcrA depletion, and rolling-circle replication of the plasmid pT181 was inhibited. Analysis of the replication intermediates showed that leading-strand synthesis of pT181 was prevented upon PcrA depletion. To compare PcrA with Rep and UvrD directly, the protein was produced in rep and uvrD mutants of E. coli . PcrA suppressed the UV sensitivity defect of a uvrD mutant but not its mutator phenotype. Furthermore, it conferred a Rep⁻ phenotype on E. coli . Altogether, these results show that PcrA is an helicase used for plasmid rolling-circle replication and suggest that it is also involved in UV repair.     

The Kaposi Sarcoma Herpesvirus Latency-associated Nuclear Antigen DNA Binding Domain Dorsal Positive Electrostatic Patch Facilitates DNA Replication and Episome Persistence

Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) has a causative role in several human malignancies. KSHV latency-associated nuclear antigen (LANA) mediates persistence of viral episomes in latently infected cells. LANA mediates KSHV DNA replication and segregates episomes to progeny nuclei. The structure of the LANA DNA binding domain was recently solved, revealing a positive electrostatic patch opposite the DNA binding surface, which is the site of BET protein binding. Here we investigate the functional role of the positive patch in LANA-mediated episome persistence. As expected, LANA mutants with alanine or glutamate substitutions in the central, peripheral, or lateral portions of the positive patch maintained the ability to bind DNA by EMSA. However, all of the substitution mutants were deficient for LANA DNA replication and episome maintenance. Mutation of the peripheral region generated the largest deficiencies. Despite these deficiencies, all positive patch mutants concentrated to dots along mitotic chromosomes in cells containing episomes, similar to LANA. The central and peripheral mutants, but not the lateral mutants, were reduced for BET protein interaction as assessed by co-immunoprecipitation. However, defects in BET protein binding were independent of episome maintenance function. Overall, the reductions in episome maintenance closely correlated with DNA replication deficiencies, suggesting that the replication defects account for the reduced episome persistence. Therefore, the electrostatic patch exerts a key role in LANA-mediated DNA replication and episome persistence and may act through a host cell partner(s) other than a BET protein or by inducing specific structures or complexes.