The replisome pausing factor Timeless is required for episomal maintenance of latent Epstein-Barr virus

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) genome is maintained as an extrachromosomal episome during latent infection of B lymphocytes. Episomal maintenance is conferred by the interaction of the EBV-encoded nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA1) with a tandem array of high-affinity binding sites, referred to as the family of repeats (FR), located within the viral origin of plasmid replication (OriP). How this nucleoprotein array confers episomal maintenance is not completely understood. Previous studies have shown that DNA replication forks pause and terminate with high frequency at OriP. We now show that cellular DNA replication fork pausing and protection factors Timeless (Tim) and Tipin (Timeless-interacting protein) accumulate at OriP during S phase of the cell cycle. Depletion of Tim inhibits OriP-dependent DNA replication and causes a complete loss of the closed-circular form of EBV episomes in latently infected B lymphocytes. Tim depletion also led to the accumulation of double-strand breaks at the OriP region. These findings demonstrate that Tim is essential for sustaining the episomal forms of EBV DNA in latently infected cells and suggest that DNA replication fork protection is integrally linked to the mechanism of plasmid maintenance.