It is generally thought that DNA replication evolved twice, independently in Bacteria and in Archaea/Eukarya, because the principal components of the replication machinery (such as the replicative helicase and the DNA polymerases) are not evolutionarily related in the two branches of life. In mammals, chromosome replication error, or insufficient correction of a replication error, is a major cause of cancers. Initiation of DNA replication occurs in G1 phase of the cell cycle, when the replication initiator Cdc6 binds and activates the origin recognition complex (ORC) to recruit Cdt1-bound Mcm2-7 hexamer, thereby assembling an inactive Mcm2-7 double hexamer on double-stranded DNA. The molecular mechanism of this multistep initiation process is not well understood. During G1-to-S transition, the Mcm2-7 double hexamer is converted to two active replicative helicases, the Cdc45-Mcm2-7-GINS (CMG) complexes. To synthesize DNA, the primases and polymerases and over a dozen additional protein factors assemble around the CMG helicase to form the replisome progression complex (RPC). Because of its sheer size and dynamic nature, very little is known about the eukaryotic replisome architecture. However, recent advances in cryo-EM methodology, along with the most recent and spectacular success in in vitro reconstitutions of origin activation, the leading strand and the lagging strand DNA synthesis, have made it feasible to tackle these challenges. Over the past decade, we have collaborated with experts in eukaryotic DNA replication to determine atomic models of several replication complexes, including the OCCM, which is an ORC-Cdc6-Cdt1-Mcm2-7 loading intermediate on DNA; the Mcm2-7 double-hexamer on DNA; and the CMG helicase on a forked DNA. We have shown that the leading strand polymerase epsilon binds to the C-tier motor ring, whereas the Pol alpha-primase is recruited by Ctf4 to the N-tier ring side of the CMG helicase. Therefore, the two polymerases ride on opposite sides of the helicase, resulting in a profoundly asymmetric replisome architecture. Building on these successes, the PI proposes to continue the collaborative and mechanistic study of replication origin activation and replisome architecture. The proposed research is significant because replication is central to cellular growth and because dysregulation of replication can lead to uncontrolled proliferation and tumorigenesis.
Despite the fact that the double helix structure was discovered over half a century ago, we know very little about how DNA is replicated, particularly in the eukaryotic cells. Recent advance in cryo-EM has made it feasible to study the structure and mechanism of chromosome replication as carried out by the coordinated efforts of several molecular machines such as the replicative helicase, the primase, and the polymerases. Because replication errors and insufficient repair of the replication error underlie human diseases such as cancers, studying the molecular mechanism of eukaryotic DNA replication is important for fundamental biology as well as for developing treatment for cancers and many other human diseases.
