Nuclear accumulation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Mcm3 is dependent on its nuclear localization sequence

BACKGROUND

The proteins of the Mcm2-7 family are required for the initiation of DNA replication. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae the nuclear envelope does not break down during the mitotic phase of the cell cycle. Large nuclear proteins, such as the Mcm proteins, which accumulate in the nucleus during specific portions of the cell cycle, must have regulated mechanisms to direct their entry into the nucleus.

RESULTS

We have identified a nuclear localization sequence (NLS) in Mcm3, and demonstrated that it is necessary for the translocation of Mcm3 into the nucleus and sufficient for directing Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase to the nucleus. Immediately adjacent to the nuclear localization sequence are four potential sites for phosphorylation by Cdc28. Mutagenesis of all four sites has no immediate phenotypic effect on cell growth or viability, nor does it affect nuclear accumulation of Mcm3, although two-dimensional protein gel analysis has shown that at least some of these sites are normally phosphorylated in vivo. Substitution of the Mcm3 NLS by the SV40 large T-antigen NLS also directs the nuclear accumulation of the Mcm3-T-antigen protein, although cell growth is compromised. Replication activity in cells bearing either the Mcm3-Cdc28 phosphorylation site mutations or the Mcm3 T-antigen NLS substitution, as measured by plasmid stability assays, is comparable to activity in wild-type cells.

CONCLUSIONS

The Mcm3 protein is imported into the nucleus by a specific NLS. The cell cycle specific nuclear accumulation of Mcm3 appears to be a result of nuclear retention or nuclear targeting, rather than nuclear import regulated through the NLS.

Mcm2 and Mcm3 are constitutive nuclear proteins that exhibit distinct isoforms and bind chromatin during specific cell cycle stages of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The Mcm2-7 proteins are a family of conserved proteins whose functions are essential for the initiation of DNA synthesis in all eukaryotes. These patients are constitutively present in high abundance in actively proliferating cells. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the intracellular concentrations of Mcms are between 100 and 500 times the number of replication origins. However, these proteins are limiting for the initiation of DNA synthesis at replication origins. Our studies indicate that only a small fraction of Mcm2 and Mcm3 tightly associates with chromatin, from late M phase to the beginning of the S phase. The rest of the Mcm2 and Mcm3 proteins are disturbed to both the cytoplasm and nucleoplasm in relatively constant levels throughout the cell cycle. We also show that S. cerevisiae Mcm3 is a phosphoprotein that exists in multiple isoforms and that distinct isoforms of Mcm2 and Mcm3 can be detected at specific stages of the cell cycle. These results suggest that the localization and function of the Mcm proteins are regulated by posttranslational phosphorylation in a manner that is consistent with a role for the Mcm proteins in restricting DNA replication to once per cell cycle.

A lesion in the DNA replication initiation factor Mcm10 induces pausing of elongation forks through chromosomal replication origins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

We describe a new minichromosome maintenance factor, Mcm10, and show that this essential protein is involved in the initiation of DNA replication in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The mcm10 mutant has an autonomously replicating sequence-specific minichromosome maintenance defect and arrests at the nonpermissive temperature with dumbbell morphology and 2C DNA content. Mcm10 is a nuclear protein that physically interacts with several members of the MCM2-7 family of DNA replication initiation factors. Cloning and sequencing of the MCM10 gene show that it is identical to DNA43, a gene identified independently for its putative role in replicating DNA. Two-dimensional DNA gel analysis reveals that the mcm10-1 lesion causes a dramatic reduction in DNA replication initiation at chromosomal origins, including ORI1 and ORI121. Interestingly, the mcm10-1 lesion also causes replication forks to pause during elongation through these same loci. This novel phenotype suggests a unique role for the Mcm10 protein in the initiation of DNA synthesis at replication origins.

Physical interactions among Mcm proteins and effects of Mcm dosage on DNA replication in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Mcm2, Mcm3, and Mcm5/Cdc46 are conserved proteins essential for the initiation of DNA synthesis at replication origins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The accumulation of these proteins in the nucleus before the onset of DNA synthesis suggests that they play a role in restricting DNA synthesis to once per cell cycle. In this work, we show that Mcm2, Mcm3, and Mcm5 self-interact and interact with one another to form complexes. Mcm2 and Mcm3 are abundant proteins, present in approximately 4 X 10(4) and 2 X 10(5) copies per cell, respectively. Reducing the dosage of Mcm2 by half results in diminished usage of specific replication origins. These results together suggest that a significant molar excess of Mcm proteins relative to replication origins is required for the proper initiation of all replication origins.

The yeast Mcm1 protein is regulated posttranscriptionally by the flux of glycolysis

Mcm1 is a multifunctional protein which plays a role both in the initiation of DNA replication and in the transcriptional regulation of diverse genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The mcm1-1 mutation results in instability of minichromosomes and alpha-specific sterility. Second-site suppressors that restore minichromosome stability but not fertility to the mcm1-1 mutant were isolated. Two of the suppressors, pgm1-1 and pgm1-2, are mutant alleles of PGM1 which encodes a glycolytic enzyme, phosphoglycerate mutase. We show that the pgm1-1 mutation suppresses the minichromosome maintenance (Mcm) defect by increasing the protein activity or level of Mcm1-1 posttranscriptionally. This increase in the intracellular Mcm1-1 activity is sufficient to suppress the Mcm defect but only minimally suppresses the mating defect. Mutations in genes encoding other glycolytic enzymes, such as eno2::URA3, can also suppress the Mcm phenotype of mcm1-1. Suppression by these glycolytic enzyme mutations correlates with a reduced rate of glycolysis rather than a reduced rate of cell growth. This study suggests that in response to changes in their nutritional states yeast cells may attain homeostasis by modulating the activity of global regulators like Mcm1, which plays a central role in the regulation of energy-expensive anabolic processes.

The MCM2-3-5 proteins: are they replication licensing factors?

DNA replication occurs only once in each normal mitotic cell cycle. To explain this strict control, a 'licensing factor' was proposed to enter the nucleus periodically as the nuclear envelope disintegrates and reassembles at the end of mitosis. Inactivation of licensing factor immediately following initiation of DNA synthesis would prevent reinitiation until after the next mitosis. The MCM2-3-5 proteins of Saccharomyces cerevisiae may be yeast's equivalent of licensing factor: they are present in the nucleus only between M and S phase, bind to chromatin and are important for the initiation of DNA replication.

Cell cycle-regulated nuclear localization of MCM2 and MCM3, which are required for the initiation of DNA synthesis at chromosomal replication origins in yeast

MCM2 and MCM3 are two genetically interacting and structurally related proteins essential for growth in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Mutants defective in these proteins affect the stability of minichromosomes in general, but the severity of the defect is dependent on the autonomously replicating sequence (ARS) that drives the replication of that plasmid. In this paper we show by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis that the initiation of DNA synthesis at chromosomal replication origins is also reduced in frequency in these mutants. We show further that the nuclear and subnuclear localizations of the MCM2 and MCM3 proteins are temporally regulated with respect to the cell cycle. These proteins enter the nucleus at the end of mitosis, persist there throughout G1 phase, and disappear from it at the beginning of S phase. Once inside the nucleus, a fraction of the MCM2 and MCM3 proteins becomes tightly associated with DNA. The association of MCM2 and MCM3 with chromatin presumably leads to the initiation of DNA synthesis, and their subsequent disappearance from the nucleus presumably prevents reinitiation of DNA synthesis at replication origins. This temporally and spatially restricted localization of MCM2 and MCM3 in the nucleus may serve to ensure that DNA replication occurs once and only once per cell cycle.

Identification and characterization of a nuclease activity specific for G4 tetrastranded DNA

We have identified a nuclease activity that is specific for G4 tetrastranded DNA. This activity, found in a partially purified fraction for a yeast telomere-binding protein, binds to DNA molecules with G4 tetrastranded structure, regardless of their nucleotide sequences, and cleaves the DNA in a neighboring single-stranded region 5' to the G4 structure. Competition with various G4-DNA molecules inhibits the cleavage reaction, suggesting that this nuclease activity is specific for G4 tetrastranded DNA. The existence of this enzymatic activity that reacts with G4 DNAs but not with single-stranded or Watson-Crick duplex DNAs suggests that tetrastranded DNA may have a distinct biological function in vivo.

CDC46/MCM5, a yeast protein whose subcellular localization is cell cycle-regulated, is involved in DNA replication at autonomously replicating sequences

Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells containing mutations in the cell-division-cycle gene CDC46 arrest with a large bud and a single nucleus with unreplicated DNA at the non-permissive temperature. This G1/S arrest, together with the increased rates of mitotic chromosome loss and recombination phenotype, suggests that these mutants are defective in DNA replication. The subcellular localization of the CDC46 protein changes with the cell cycle; it is nuclear between the end of M phase and the G1/S transition but is cytoplasmic in other phases of the cell cycle. Here we show that CDC46 is identical to MCM5, based on complementation analysis of the mcm5-1 and cdc46-1 alleles, complementation of the minichromosome maintenance defect of mcm5-1 by CDC46, and the genetic linkage of these two genes. Like mcm5-1, cdc46-1 and cdc46-5 also show a minichromosome maintenance defect thought to be associated with DNA replication initiation at autonomously replicating sequences. Taken together, these observations suggest that CDC46/MCM5 acts during a very narrow window at the G1/S transition or the beginning of S phase by virtue of its nuclear localization to effect the initiation of DNA replication at autonomously replicating sequences.

Chromosome loss, hyperrecombination, and cell cycle arrest in a yeast mcm1 mutant

The original mcm1-1 mutant was identified by its inability to propagate minichromosomes in an ARS-specific manner, suggesting that it is defective in the initiation of DNA synthesis at ARSs. This mutant is also defective in expression of alpha-mating-type-specific genes. Further genetic and biochemical studies confirmed that Mcm1 is a transcription factor that mediates the transcriptional regulation of a number of genes, including genes outside of the mating type complement, by interacting with different cofactors. Although MCM1 is an essential gene, none of the previously characterized mcm1 mutants exhibits significant growth defects. To assess which of the many roles of Mcm1 is essential for growth, we constructed and characterized a temperature-sensitive conditional mutant of mcm1, mcm1-110L. This mutant exhibits a temperature-dependent cell-cycle arrest, with a large, elongated bud and a single, undivided nucleus that has a DNA content of close to 2n. In addition, it shows elevated levels of chromosome loss and recombination. In spite of the severity of the mcm1-110L mutation, this mutant still retains an ARS-specific pattern of minichromosome instability. All of these phenotypes are precisely those exhibited by mutants in three MCM genes, MCM2, MCM3, and MCM5/CDC46, that have been shown to play interacting roles in the early steps of DNA replication.

Both activation and repression of a-mating-type-specific genes in yeast require transcription factor Mcm1

Mcm1 is a yeast transcription factor with homologs throughout the metazoa. MCM1 was first identified as a gene involved in maintenance of artificial minichromosomes in yeast. More recently Mcm1 has been shown to serve as a transcriptional regulator of mating-type-specific genes. Biochemical data suggest that Mcm1 coactivates alpha-specific genes and corepresses a-specific genes by binding to a 10-base-pair dyad symmetry element in their upstream regions. We reported previously that an mcm1 point mutation reduced activation of alpha-specific genes but had little effect on the expression of a-specific genes. We now show that another mcm1 allele, which depletes the Mcm1 protein, affects both activation and repression of a-specific genes. The mutant strain remains capable of high levels of pheromone induction of a-specific genes, although with retarded kinetics. Mcm1 joins an increasing number of transcription factors involved in both positive and negative regulation of gene expression.

Mcm2 and Mcm3, two proteins important for ARS activity, are related in structure and function

MCM2 and MCM3 are essential genes believed to play important roles in the initiation of DNA replication in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Mutants defective in Mcm2 or Mcm3 are remarkably similar in phenotype. They both show an autonomously replicating sequence (ARS)-specific minichromosome maintenance defect, although their ARS specificities are not identical. In addition, these mutants exhibit a premitotic cell cycle arrest and an increase in chromosome loss and recombination. Genetic studies suggest that the two MCM gene products play interacting or complementary roles in DNA replication. Double mutants of mcm2-1 and mcm3-1 are inviable at the permissive growth temperature (23 degrees C) for each of the single mutants. Furthermore, overproduction of Mcm3 accentuates the deleterious effect of the mcm2-1 mutation, whereas overproduction of Mcm2 partially complements the mcm3-1 mutation. MCM2 encodes a protein of 890 amino acids containing a putative zinc-finger domain that is essential for Mcm2 function. Mcm2 shows striking homology to Mcm3 and three other proteins, Cdc46 of S. cerevisiae, and Nda4 and Cdc21 of Schizosaccharomyces pombe. The phenotypes of mutants defective in these proteins suggest that they belong to a protein family involved in the early steps of DNA replication.

Functional domains of the yeast transcription/replication factor MCM1

MCM1 is an essential yeast DNA-binding protein that affects both minichromosome maintenance, in a manner suggesting that it has DNA replication initiation function, and gene expression. It activates alpha-specific genes together with MAT alpha 1, and represses a-specific genes together with MAT alpha 2. Alone, MCM1 can activate transcription. To determine whether different domains of the protein mediate these diverse functions, we constructed and analyzed several mcm1 mutants. The gene expression and minichromosome maintenance phenotypes of these mutants suggest that the role of MCM1 in DNA replication initiation may not involve transcriptional activation. However, both transcription and replication activities require only the 80-amino-acid fragment of MCM1 homologous to the DNA-binding domain of the serum response factor (SRF). This small fragment is also sufficient for cell viability and repression of a-specific genes. A polyacidic amino acid stretch immediately adjacent to the SRF homologous domain of MCM1 was found to be important for activation of alpha-specific genes in alpha cells. Mutants lacking the acidic stretch confer higher expression from an alpha-specific UAS in a cells in addition to lower expression in alpha cells, suggesting that negative regulation at this site occurs in a cells, in addition to the well-documented positive regulation in alpha cells.

A yeast protein that binds to vertebrate telomeres and conserved yeast telomeric junctions

We have identified three yeast proteins that bind to poly(C.A)/poly(T.G) repeats characteristic of telomeric sequences from yeast to human. TBF alpha binds to the telomeric sequences of yeast, Tetrahymena, and vertebrates. In contrast, TBF beta binds only to yeast telomeric sequences. Also identified was RAP1, the transcriptional silencer protein, which binds to a sequence motif found in upstream activating sequences (UASs) of a number of genes; the sequence motif also occurs frequently in yeast telomeric sequences. Because poly(C.A)/poly(T.G) sequences from a wide range of organisms will serve as the primer for the in vivo extension of telomeres in yeast, TBF alpha is of particular interest. DNase I footprinting analysis indicated that TBF alpha binds to the junction between the subtelomeric X sequence and poly(C1-3A) in a cloned yeast telomere. Examination of the junctions of known X sequences indicated that they all contain one or more repeats of CCCTAA, a sequence that is repeated in vertebrate telomeres. Earlier, Murray et al. (1988) reported that heterologous telomeric sequences positioned as far as several hundred base pairs from the termini of linear molecules can allow the addition of yeast telomeric sequences from nontelomeric termini in vivo. A possible function for TBF alpha might be to serve as an anchoring protein for the yeast telomerase by binding to the conserved junction sequence at a distance from the terminus to allow addition of an irregular repeating sequence at the chromosome end.

The phenotype of the minichromosome maintenance mutant mcm3 is characteristic of mutants defective in DNA replication

MCM3 is an essential gene involved in the maintenance of minichromosomes in yeast cells. It encodes a protein of 971 amino acids that shows striking homology to the Mcm2 protein. We have mapped the mcm3-1 mutation of the left arm of chromosome V approximately 3 kb centromere proximal of anp1. The mcm3-1 mutant was found to be thermosensitive for growth. Under permissive growth conditions, it was defective in minichromosome maintenance in an autonomously replicating sequence-specific manner and showed an increase in chromosome loss and recombination. Under nonpermissive conditions, mcm3-1 exhibited a cell cycle arrest phenotype, arresting at the large-bud stage with an undivided nucleus that had a DNA content of nearly 2n. These phenotypes are consistent with incomplete replication of the genome of the mcm3-1 mutant, possibly as a result of limited replication initiation at selective autonomously replicating sequences leading to cell cycle arrest before mitosis. The phenotype exhibited by the mcm3 mutant is very similar to that of mcm2, suggesting that the Mcm2 and Mcm3 protein may play interacting roles in DNA replication.

A protein involved in minichromosome maintenance in yeast binds a transcriptional enhancer conserved in eukaryotes

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae MCM1 gene product is a protein with multiple functions. It is a transcription factor necessary for expression of mating-type-specific genes and is also required for the maintenance of minichromosomes. MCM1 shows DNA-binding specificities similar to those of two previously reported DNA-binding factors, pheromone/receptor transcription factor (PRTF) and general regulator of mating type (GRM); like PRTF, its activity can be modulated by the alpha 1 protein. MCM1 binds to the dyad symmetry element 5'-CCTAATTAGG and related sequences, which we refer to as MCM1 control elements (MCEs). MCEs are found within the regulatory regions of a- and alpha-specific genes. Direct and indirect DNA binding assays suggest that a conserved 5'-ATTAGG in one-half of the dyad symmetry element is important for MCM1 binding whereas variants in the other half are tolerated. We have used a novel DNase I 'nicking interference' assay to investigate the interaction of MCM1 with its substrate. These data suggest that MCM1 binds as a dimer, interacting symmetrically with the ATTAGG residues in each half of the binding site. MCM1 contains striking homology to the DNA-binding domain of the human serum response factor (SRF) which mediates the transient transcriptional activation of growth-stimulated genes by binding to the serum response element (SRE). We have shown that MCM1 binds to the human c-fos SRE in vitro and, like other MCEs, the c-fos SRE exhibits MCM1-mediated upstream activating sequence (UAS) activity in vivo.

The OBF1 protein and its DNA-binding site are important for the function of an autonomously replicating sequence in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The autonomously replicating sequence ARS121 was cloned as a 480-base-pair (bp) long DNA fragment that confers on plasmids autonomous replication in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This fragment contains two OBF1-binding sites (sites I and II) of different affinities, as identified by a gel mobility shift assay and footprint analysis. Nucleotide substitutions (16 to 18 bp) within either of the two sites obliterated detectable in vitro OBF1 binding to the mutagenized site. Linker substitution (6 bp) mutations within the high-affinity site I showed effects similar to those of the complete substitution, whereas DNA mutagenized outside the binding site bound OBF1 normally. We also tested the mitotic stability of centromeric plasmids bearing wild-type and mutagenized copies of ARS121. Both deletion of the sites and the extensive base alterations within either of the two OBF1-binding sites reduced the percentage of plasmid-containing cells in the population from about 88% to 50 to 63% under selective growth and from about 46% to 15 to 20% after 10 to 12 generations of nonselective growth. Furthermore, linker (6 bp) substitutions within site I, the high-affinity binding site, showed similar deficiencies in plasmid stability. In contrast, plasmids containing linker substitutions in sequences contiguous to site I displayed wild-type stability. In addition, plasmid copy number analysis indicated that the instability probably resulted not from nondisjunction during mitosis but rather from inefficient plasmid replication. The results strongly support the notion that the OBF1-binding sites and the OBF1 protein are important for normal ARS function as an origin of replication.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae protein involved in plasmid maintenance is necessary for mating of MAT alpha cells

We previously reported the isolation of yeast mutants that seem to affect the function of certain autonomously replicating sequences (ARSs). These mutants are known as mcm for their defect in the maintenance of minichromosomes. We have now characterized in more detail one ARS-specific mutation, mcm1-1. This Mcm1 mutant has a second phenotype; MAT alpha mcm1-1 strains are sterile. MCM1 is non-allelic to other known alpha-specific sterile mutations and, unlike most genes required for mating, it is essential for growth. The alpha-specific sterile phenotype of the mcm1-1 mutant is manifested by its failure to produce a normal amount of the mating pheromone, alpha-factor. In addition, transcripts of the MF alpha 1 and STE3 genes, which encode the alpha-factor precursor and the alpha-factor receptor, respectively, are greatly reduced in this mutant. These and other properties of the mcm1-1 mutant suggest that the MCM1 protein may act as a transcriptional activator of alpha-specific genes. We have cloned, mapped and sequenced the wild-type and mutant alleles of MCM1, which is located on the right arm of chromosome XIII near LYS7. The MCM1 gene product is a protein of 286 amino acid residues and contains an unusual region in which 19 out of 20 residues are either aspartic or glutamic acid, followed by a series of glutamine tracts. MCM1 has striking homology to ARG80, a regulatory gene of the arginine metabolic pathway located about 700 base-pairs upstream from MCM1. A substitution of leucine for proline at amino acid position 97, immediately preceding the polyanionic region, was shown to be responsible for both the alpha-specific sterile and minichromosome-maintenance defective phenotypes of the mcm1-1 mutant.

Meiotic disjunction of homologs in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is directed by pairing and recombination of the chromosome arms but not by pairing of the centromeres

We explored the behavior of meiotic chromosomes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by examining the effects of chromosomal rearrangements on the pattern of disjunction and recombination of chromosome III during meiosis. The segregation of deletion chromosomes lacking part or all (telocentric) of one arm was analyzed in the presence of one or two copies of a normal chromosome III. In strains containing one normal and any one deletion chromosome, the two chromosomes disjoined in most meioses. In strains with one normal chromosome and both a left and right arm telocentric chromosome, the two telocentrics preferentially disjoined from the normal chromosome. Homology on one arm was sufficient to direct chromosome disjunction, and two chromosomes could be directed to disjoin from a third. In strains containing one deletion chromosome and two normal chromosomes, the two normal chromosomes preferentially disjoined, but in 4-7% of the tetrads the normal chromosomes cosegregated, disjoining from the deletion chromosome. Recombination between the two normal chromosomes or between the deletion chromosome and a normal chromosome increased the probability that these chromosomes would disjoin, although cosegregation of recombinants was observed. Finally, we observed that a derivative of chromosome III in which the centromeric region was deleted and CEN5 was integrated at another site on the chromosome disjoined from a normal chromosome III with fidelity. These studies demonstrate that it is not pairing of the centromeres, but pairing and recombination along the arms of the homologs, that directs meiotic chromosome segregation.

Specific interaction between a Saccharomyces cerevisiae protein and a DNA element associated with certain autonomously replicating sequences

We have isolated a protein from Saccharomyces cerevisiae that binds specifically to a nucleotide sequence associated with the autonomously replicating sequence (ARS) ARS120, located in the telomeric region of a yeast chromosome. "Footprinting" analysis revealed that a 26-base-pair DNA sequence, 5'-CAAGTGCCGTGCATAATGATGTGGGT-3', was protected by this protein from DNase I digestion. A plasmid containing 48 direct tandem repeats of this oligonucleotide was constructed and used to affinity-purify the binding activity. The purified protein, OBF1 (origin binding factor), showed specific binding to ARS120. The 26-base-pair OBF1-protected sequence was sufficient for the recognition and binding of the protein, since the mobility of a DNA fragment containing the synthetic binding site was retarded in agarose gels when incubated with OBF1. By performing competition experiments with a number of different ARSs, we showed that OBF1 binds tightly to some but not all ARSs. Interestingly, OBF1 does not appear to have a discernible affinity for ARS1 or the ARSs associated with mating type loci, HML alpha and HMRa, which are substrates for a DNA-binding activity reported by others. Since OBF1 appears to bind to DNA associated with a number of ARSs, we suggest that this protein may have a function related to ARS activity, perhaps in the initiation of DNA replication at selected ARSs.

A mutant that affects the function of autonomously replicating sequences in yeast

We previously reported the isolation of a series of mcm mutants that are defective in the maintenance of minichromosomes in yeast. These minichromosomes are circular plasmids, each containing an autonomously replicating sequence (ARS) and a centromere. One of the mcm mutants, mcm2, has the following phenotype: at room temperature it affects the stability of only some minichromosomes depending on the ARS present, while at high temperature it affects all minichromosomes tested irrespective of the ARS present. Here we show that the mcm defect as well as its temperature-dependent specificity for ARSs can be demonstrated with circular as well as linear plasmids that do not contain centromeric sequences. Larger chromosomes containing multiple ARSs are also unstable in this mutant. Further analyses indicate that the mcm2 mutation causes the loss, rather than the aberrant segregation, of the circular minichromosomes. In addition, this mutation appears to stimulate mitotic recombination frequencies. These properties of the mcm2 mutant are consistent with the idea that the mcm2 mutation results in a defect in the initiation of DNA replication at ARSs, the putative chromosomal replication origins in yeast.

Identification of a telomere-binding activity from yeast

In yeast, the ends of the chromosomes (telomeres) terminate in repeated poly(C1-3A) sequences. We have identified a yeast activity that binds specifically to these poly(C1-3A) repeats. An agarose gel binding assay was used to detect and characterize this activity in cell extracts using both cloned telomere DNA and yeast genomic DNA as substrates. The activity appears to bind specifically to poly(C1-3A) sequences, despite their different primary sequences, yet does not bind specifically to telomeric repeats, such as poly(C4A2), poly(C4A4), and poly (C1-8T) from other lower eukaryotes.

Host factors in nuclear plasmid maintenance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

In yeast, the initiation of DNA replication on chromosomes is believed to occur at specific sequences known as autonomously replicating sequences (ARSs). We previously isolated a number of mutants that are defective in the maintenance of minichromosomes. Analysis of these mutants suggests that although ARSs differ greatly from one another in their primary sequences, they appear to share a common enzyme complex for the initiation of DNA replication. However, this initiation enzyme complex probably binds with differential affinity to different ARSs. This idea is corroborated by our identification of an ARS-binding protein that binds to different ARSs with different efficiencies.