The precise inheritance of genetic material in eukaryotes requires that initiation at each of the hundreds to thousands of replication origins be subject to exquisite regulation so that the DNA is duplicated exactly once per cell cycle. When replication control mechanisms go awry, genomic instability is predicted to occur, but the precise molecular consequences of deregulated replication for genome integrity are completely unknown. Additionally, the full battery of regulatory strategies that govern replication has not been defined. Cyclin dependent kinases (CDKs) are key molecular regulators that both stimulate initiation and inhibit re- initiation of DNA replication. To understand the molecular basis of genome integrity, it is essential to develop a more sophisticated understanding of these CDK-dependent regulatory events. Additionally, it is critical to analyze how disrupting this regulation affects faithful inheritance of the genome. To this end, we have developed several innovative tools that allow us to study the genesis and consequences of re-replication in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Our Specific Aims are as follows: (1) We have discovered that CDKs target polymerase alpha primase to block re-replication, which challenges the prevailing paradigm that the only strategy used by CDKs to inhibit re-replication is to prevent reassembly of a pre-replicative complex. Thus in this aim, we will characterize a novel replication control mechanism by investigating how CDKs inhibit polymerase alpha-primase to prevent re-replication. (2) We will continue to uncover new strategies for replication control by completing our ongoing screen to identify new CDK targets involved in either triggering initiation or preventing re-replication;this screen has already successfully identified five such targets, including polymerase alpha primase. (3) Using a robust copy number assay, we have obtained the first evidence that re-replication causes a heritable genetic change, namely a gene duplication event that represents an early step of gene amplification. We will exploit this unprecedented opportunity to examine the mechanisms by which re-replication promotes gene amplification. Because gene amplification is a primary means of activating oncogenes in cancer cells, these studies will shed light on the molecular triggers of tumorigenesis, and potentially identify targets of therapeutic significance.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
3R01GM059704-08S1
Application #
7990228
Study Section
Molecular Genetics B Study Section (MGB)
Program Officer
Hagan, Ann A
Project Start
2009-12-18
Project End
2011-11-30
Budget Start
2009-12-18
Budget End
2011-11-30
Support Year
8
Fiscal Year
2010
Total Cost
$133,006
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California San Francisco
Department
Microbiology/Immun/Virology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
094878337
City
San Francisco
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
94143
Hanlon, Stacey L; Li, Joachim J (2015) Re-replication of a centromere induces chromosomal instability and aneuploidy. PLoS Genet 11:e1005039
Richardson, Christopher D; Li, Joachim J (2014) Regulatory mechanisms that prevent re-initiation of DNA replication can be locally modulated at origins by nearby sequence elements. PLoS Genet 10:e1004358
Finn, Kenneth J; Li, Joachim J (2013) Single-stranded annealing induced by re-initiation of replication origins provides a novel and efficient mechanism for generating copy number expansion via non-allelic homologous recombination. PLoS Genet 9:e1003192
Green, Brian M; Finn, Kenneth J; Li, Joachim J (2010) Loss of DNA replication control is a potent inducer of gene amplification. Science 329:943-6
Moses, Alan M; Liku, Muluye E; Li, Joachim J et al. (2007) Regulatory evolution in proteins by turnover and lineage-specific changes of cyclin-dependent kinase consensus sites. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 104:17713-8
Green, Brian M; Morreale, Richard J; Ozaydin, Bilge et al. (2006) Genome-wide mapping of DNA synthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae reveals that mechanisms preventing reinitiation of DNA replication are not redundant. Mol Biol Cell 17:2401-14
Liku, Muluye E; Nguyen, Van Q; Rosales, Audrey W et al. (2005) CDK phosphorylation of a novel NLS-NES module distributed between two subunits of the Mcm2-7 complex prevents chromosomal rereplication. Mol Biol Cell 16:5026-39
Green, Brian M; Li, Joachim J (2005) Loss of rereplication control in Saccharomyces cerevisiae results in extensive DNA damage. Mol Biol Cell 16:421-32