IHF redistributes bound initiator protein, DnaA, on supercoiled oriC of Escherichia coli

SSB promotes DnaB helicase passage through DnaA complexes at the replication origin oriC for bidirectional replication

For bidirectional replication in Escherichia coli, higher order complexes are formed at the replication origin oriC by the initiator protein DnaA, which locally unwinds the left edge of oriC to promote the loading of two molecules of DnaB helicases onto the unwound region via dynamic interactions with the helicase-loader DnaC and the oriC-bound DnaA complex. One of the two helicases must translocate rightwards through oriC-bound DnaA complex. Here, we used a synthetic forked oriC DNA, which mimics the unwound state of oriC, to examine DnaB translocation through the oriC-bound DnaA complex. We found that DnaB helicase alone cannot pass through the oriC-bound DnaA complex without the help of single-strand binding protein (SSB). In the presence of SSB, DnaB passed through this complex along with its helicase function, releasing DnaA molecules. In addition, DnaB helicase activity is known to be inhibited by oversupply of DnaC, but this inhibition was relieved by SSB. These results suggest a mechanism that when two DnaB helicases are loaded at oriC, one translocates leftwards to expand the DnaA-unwound region and allows SSB binding to the single-stranded DNA, and such SSB molecules then stimulate translocation of the other helicase rightwards through the oriC-bound DnaA complex.

Spatio-temporal organization of the E. coli chromosome from base to cellular length scales

Escherichia coli has been a vital model organism for studying chromosomal structure, thanks, in part, to its small and circular genome (4.6 million base pairs) and well-characterized biochemical pathways. Over the last several decades, we have made considerable progress in understanding the intricacies of the structure and subsequent function of the E. coli nucleoid. At the smallest scale, DNA, with no physical constraints, takes on a shape reminiscent of a randomly twisted cable, forming mostly random coils but partly affected by its stiffness. This ball-of-spaghetti-like shape forms a structure several times too large to fit into the cell. Once the physiological constraints of the cell are added, the DNA takes on overtwisted (negatively supercoiled) structures, which are shaped by an intricate interplay of many proteins carrying out essential biological processes. At shorter length scales (up to about 1 kb), nucleoid-associated proteins organize and condense the chromosome by inducing loops, bends, and forming bridges. Zooming out further and including cellular processes, topological domains are formed, which are flanked by supercoiling barriers. At the megabase-scale both large, highly self-interacting regions (macrodomains) and strong contacts between distant but co-regulated genes have been observed. At the largest scale, the nucleoid forms a helical ellipsoid. In this review, we will explore the history and recent advances that pave the way for a better understanding of E. coli chromosome organization and structure, discussing the cellular processes that drive changes in DNA shape, and what contributes to compaction and formation of dynamic structures, and in turn how bacterial chromatin affects key processes such as transcription and replication.

Single-stranded DNA recruitment mechanism in replication origin unwinding by DnaA initiator protein and HU, an evolutionary ubiquitous nucleoid protein

The Escherichia coli replication origin oriC contains the initiator ATP-DnaA-Oligomerization Region (DOR) and its flanking duplex unwinding element (DUE). In the Left-DOR subregion, ATP-DnaA forms a pentamer by binding to R1, R5M and three other DnaA boxes. The DNA-bending protein IHF binds sequence-specifically to the interspace between R1 and R5M boxes, promoting DUE unwinding, which is sustained predominantly by binding of R1/R5M-bound DnaAs to the single-stranded DUE (ssDUE). The present study describes DUE unwinding mechanisms promoted by DnaA and IHF-structural homolog HU, a ubiquitous protein in eubacterial species that binds DNA sequence-non-specifically, preferring bent DNA. Similar to IHF, HU promoted DUE unwinding dependent on ssDUE binding of R1/R5M-bound DnaAs. Unlike IHF, HU strictly required R1/R5M-bound DnaAs and interactions between the two DnaAs. Notably, HU site-specifically bound the R1-R5M interspace in a manner stimulated by ATP-DnaA and ssDUE. These findings suggest a model that interactions between the two DnaAs trigger DNA bending within the R1/R5M-interspace and initial DUE unwinding, which promotes site-specific HU binding that stabilizes the overall complex and DUE unwinding. Moreover, HU site-specifically bound the replication origin of the ancestral bacterium Thermotoga maritima depending on the cognate ATP-DnaA. The ssDUE recruitment mechanism could be evolutionarily conserved in eubacteria.

Blocking, Bending, and Binding: Regulation of Initiation of Chromosome Replication During the Escherichia coli Cell Cycle by Transcriptional Modulators That Interact With Origin DNA

Genome duplication is a critical event in the reproduction cycle of every cell. Because all daughter cells must inherit a complete genome, chromosome replication is tightly regulated, with multiple mechanisms focused on controlling when chromosome replication begins during the cell cycle. In bacteria, chromosome duplication starts when nucleoprotein complexes, termed orisomes, unwind replication origin (oriC) DNA and recruit proteins needed to build new replication forks. Functional orisomes comprise the conserved initiator protein, DnaA, bound to a set of high and low affinity recognition sites in oriC. Orisomes must be assembled each cell cycle. In Escherichia coli, the organism in which orisome assembly has been most thoroughly examined, the process starts with DnaA binding to high affinity sites after chromosome duplication is initiated, and orisome assembly is completed immediately before the next initiation event, when DnaA interacts with oriC’s lower affinity sites, coincident with origin unwinding. A host of regulators, including several transcriptional modulators, targets low affinity DnaA-oriC interactions, exerting their effects by DNA bending, blocking access to recognition sites, and/or facilitating binding of DnaA to both DNA and itself. In this review, we focus on orisome assembly in E. coli. We identify three known transcriptional modulators, SeqA, Fis (factor for inversion stimulation), and IHF (integration host factor), that are not essential for initiation, but which interact directly with E. coli oriC to regulate orisome assembly and replication initiation timing. These regulators function by blocking sites (SeqA) and bending oriC DNA (Fis and IHF) to inhibit or facilitate cooperative low affinity DnaA binding. We also examine how the growth rate regulation of Fis levels might modulate IHF and DnaA binding to oriC under a variety of nutritional conditions. Combined, the regulatory mechanisms mediated by transcriptional modulators help ensure that at all growth rates, bacterial chromosome replication begins once, and only once, per cell cycle.

gammaBOriS: Identification and Taxonomic Classification of Origins of Replication in Gammaproteobacteria using Motif-based Machine Learning

The biology of bacterial cells is, in general, based on information encoded on circular chromosomes. Regulation of chromosome replication is an essential process that mostly takes place at the origin of replication (oriC), a locus unique per chromosome. Identification of high numbers of oriC is a prerequisite for systematic studies that could lead to insights into oriC functioning as well as the identification of novel drug targets for antibiotic development. Current methods for identifying oriC sequences rely on chromosome-wide nucleotide disparities and are therefore limited to fully sequenced genomes, leaving a large number of genomic fragments unstudied. Here, we present gammaBOriS (Gammaproteobacterial oriC Searcher), which identifies oriC sequences on gammaproteobacterial chromosomal fragments. It does so by employing motif-based machine learning methods. Using gammaBOriS, we created BOriS DB, which currently contains 25,827 gammaproteobacterial oriC sequences from 1,217 species, thus making it the largest available database for oriC sequences to date. Furthermore, we present gammaBOriTax, a machine-learning based approach for taxonomic classification of oriC sequences, which was trained on the sequences in BOriS DB. Finally, we extracted the motifs relevant for identification and classification decisions of the models. Our results suggest that machine learning sequence classification approaches can offer great support in functional motif identification.

Changing Perspectives on the Role of DnaA-ATP in Orisome Function and Timing Regulation

Bacteria, like all cells, must precisely duplicate their genomes before they divide. Regulation of this critical process focuses on forming a pre-replicative nucleoprotein complex, termed the orisome. Orisomes perform two essential mechanical tasks that configure the unique chromosomal replication origin, oriC to start a new round of chromosome replication: (1) unwinding origin DNA and (2) assisting with loading of the replicative DNA helicase on exposed single strands. In Escherichia coli, a necessary orisome component is the ATP-bound form of the bacterial initiator protein, DnaA. DnaA-ATP differs from DnaA-ADP in its ability to oligomerize into helical filaments, and in its ability to access a subset of low affinity recognition sites in the E. coli replication origin. The helical filaments have been proposed to play a role in both of the key mechanical tasks, but recent studies raise new questions about whether they are mandatory for orisome activity. It was recently shown that a version of E. coli oriC (oriC^allADP), whose multiple low affinity DnaA recognition sites bind DnaA-ATP and DnaA-ADP similarly, was fully occupied and unwound by DnaA-ADP in vitro, and in vivo suppressed the lethality of DnaA mutants defective in ATP binding and ATP-specific oligomerization. However, despite their functional equivalency, orisomes assembled on oriC^allADP were unable to trigger chromosome replication at the correct cell cycle time and displayed a hyper-initiation phenotype. Here we present a new perspective on DnaA-ATP, and suggest that in E. coli, DnaA-ATP is not required for mechanical functions, but rather is needed for site recognition and occupation, so that initiation timing is coupled to DnaA-ATP levels. We also discuss how other bacterial types may utilize DnaA-ATP and DnaA-ADP, and whether the high diversity of replication origins in the bacterial world reflects different regulatory strategies for how DnaA-ATP is used to control orisome assembly.

Blocking the Trigger: Inhibition of the Initiation of Bacterial Chromosome Replication as an Antimicrobial Strategy

All bacterial cells must duplicate their genomes prior to dividing into two identical daughter cells. Chromosome replication is triggered when a nucleoprotein complex, termed the orisome, assembles, unwinds the duplex DNA, and recruits the proteins required to establish new replication forks. Obviously, the initiation of chromosome replication is essential to bacterial reproduction, but this process is not inhibited by any of the currently-used antimicrobial agents. Given the urgent need for new antibiotics to combat drug-resistant bacteria, it is logical to evaluate whether or not unexploited bacterial processes, such as orisome assembly, should be more closely examined for sources of novel drug targets. This review will summarize current knowledge about the proteins required for bacterial chromosome initiation, as well as how orisomes assemble and are regulated. Based upon this information, we discuss current efforts and potential strategies and challenges for inhibiting this initiation pharmacologically.

An integrative view of cell cycle control in Escherichia coli

Bacterial proliferation depends on the cells' capability to proceed through consecutive rounds of the cell cycle. The cell cycle consists of a series of events during which cells grow, copy their genome, partition the duplicated DNA into different cell halves and, ultimately, divide to produce two newly formed daughter cells. Cell cycle control is of the utmost importance to maintain the correct order of events and safeguard the integrity of the cell and its genomic information. This review covers insights into the regulation of individual key cell cycle events in Escherichia coli. The control of initiation of DNA replication, chromosome segregation and cell division is discussed. Furthermore, we highlight connections between these processes. Although detailed mechanistic insight into these connections is largely still emerging, it is clear that the different processes of the bacterial cell cycle are coordinated to one another. This careful coordination of events ensures that every daughter cell ends up with one complete and intact copy of the genome, which is vital for bacterial survival.

Low Affinity DnaA-ATP Recognition Sites in E. coli oriC Make Non-equivalent and Growth Rate-Dependent Contributions to the Regulated Timing of Chromosome Replication

Although the mechanisms that precisely time initiation of chromosome replication in bacteria remain unclear, most clock models are based on accumulation of the active initiator protein, DnaA-ATP. During each cell division cycle, sufficient DnaA-ATP must become available to interact with a distinct set of low affinity recognition sites in the unique chromosomal replication origin, oriC, and assemble the pre-replicative complex (orisome) that unwinds origin DNA and helps load the replicative helicase. The low affinity oriC-DnaA-ATP interactions are required for the orisome's mechanical functions, and may also play a role in timing of new rounds of DNA synthesis. To further examine this possibility, we constructed chromosomal oriCs with equal preference for DnaA-ADP or DnaA-ATP at one or more low affinity recognition sites, thereby lowering the DnaA-ATP requirement for orisome assembly, and measured the effect of the mutations on cell cycle timing of DNA synthesis. Under slow growth conditions, mutation of any one of the six low affinity DnaA-ATP sites in chromosomal oriC resulted in initiation earlier in the cell cycle, but the shift was not equivalent for every recognition site. Mutation of τ2 caused a greater change in initiation age, suggesting its occupation by DnaA-ATP is a temporal bottleneck during orisome assembly. In contrast, during rapid growth, all origins with a single mutated site displayed wild-type initiation timing. Based on these observations, we propose that E. coli uses two different, DnaA-ATP-dependent initiation timing mechanisms; a slow growth timer that is directly coupled to individual site occupation, and a fast growth timer comprising DnaA-ATP and additional factors that regulate DnaA access to oriC. Analysis of origins with paired mutated sites suggests that Fis is an important component of the fast growth timing mechanism.

Initiation of DNA Replication at the Chromosomal Origin of E. coli, oriC

The Escherichia coli chromosomal origin consists of a duplex-unwinding region and a region bearing a DNA-bending protein, IHF-binding site, and clusters of binding sites for the initiator protein DnaA. ATP-DnaA molecules form highly organized oligomers in a process stimulated by DiaA, a DnaA-binding protein. The resultant ATP-DnaA complexes promote local unwinding of oriC with the aid of IHF, for which specific interaction of DnaA with the single-stranded DNA is crucial. DnaA complexes also interact with DnaB helicases bound to DnaC loaders, promoting loading of DnaB onto the unwound DNA strands for bidirectional replication. Initiation of replication is strictly regulated during the cell cycle by multiple regulatory systems for oriC and DnaA. The activity of oriC is regulated by its methylation state, whereas that of DnaA depends on the form of the bound nucleotide. ATP-DnaA can be yielded from initiation-inactive ADP-DnaA in a timely manner depending on specific chromosomal DNA elements termed DARS (DnaA-reactivating sequences). After initiation, DnaA-bound ATP is hydrolyzed by two systems, yielding ADP-DnaA. In this review, these and other mechanisms of initiation and its regulation in E. coli are described.

Regulatory dynamics in the ternary DnaA complex for initiation of chromosomal replication in Escherichia coli

In Escherichia coli, the level of the ATP-DnaA initiator is increased temporarily at the time of replication initiation. The replication origin, oriC, contains a duplex-unwinding element (DUE) flanking a DnaA-oligomerization region (DOR), which includes twelve DnaA-binding sites (DnaA boxes) and the DNA-bending protein IHF-binding site (IBS). Although complexes of IHF and ATP-DnaA assembly on the DOR unwind the DUE, the configuration of the crucial nucleoprotein complexes remains elusive. To resolve this, we analyzed individual DnaA protomers in the complex and here demonstrate that the DUE-DnaA-box-R1-IBS-DnaA-box-R5M region is essential for DUE unwinding. R5M-bound ATP-DnaA predominantly promotes ATP-DnaA assembly on the DUE-proximal DOR, and R1-bound DnaA has a supporting role. This mechanism might support timely assembly of ATP-DnaA on oriC. DnaA protomers bound to R1 and R5M directly bind to the unwound DUE strand, which is crucial in replication initiation. Data from in vivo experiments support these results. We propose that the DnaA assembly on the IHF-bent DOR directly binds to the unwound DUE strand, and timely formation of this ternary complex regulates replication initiation. Structural features of oriC support the idea that these mechanisms for DUE unwinding are fundamentally conserved in various bacterial species including pathogens.

The DnaA Cycle in Escherichia coli: Activation, Function and Inactivation of the Initiator Protein

This review summarizes the mechanisms of the initiator protein DnaA in replication initiation and its regulation in Escherichia coli. The chromosomal origin (oriC) DNA is unwound by the replication initiation complex to allow loading of DnaB helicases and replisome formation. The initiation complex consists of the DnaA protein, DnaA-initiator-associating protein DiaA, integration host factor (IHF), and oriC, which contains a duplex-unwinding element (DUE) and a DnaA-oligomerization region (DOR) containing DnaA-binding sites (DnaA boxes) and a single IHF-binding site that induces sharp DNA bending. DiaA binds to DnaA and stimulates DnaA assembly at the DOR. DnaA binds tightly to ATP and ADP. ATP-DnaA constructs functionally different sub-complexes at DOR, and the DUE-proximal DnaA sub-complex contains IHF and promotes DUE unwinding. The first part of this review presents the structures and mechanisms of oriC-DnaA complexes involved in the regulation of replication initiation. During the cell cycle, the level of ATP-DnaA level, the active form for initiation, is strictly regulated by multiple systems, resulting in timely replication initiation. After initiation, regulatory inactivation of DnaA (RIDA) intervenes to reduce ATP-DnaA level by hydrolyzing the DnaA-bound ATP to ADP to yield ADP-DnaA, the inactive form. RIDA involves the binding of the DNA polymerase clamp on newly synthesized DNA to the DnaA-inactivator Hda protein. In datA-dependent DnaA-ATP hydrolysis (DDAH), binding of IHF at the chromosomal locus datA, which contains a cluster of DnaA boxes, results in further hydrolysis of DnaA-bound ATP. SeqA protein inhibits untimely initiation at oriC by binding to newly synthesized oriC DNA and represses dnaA transcription in a cell cycle dependent manner. To reinitiate DNA replication, ADP-DnaA forms oligomers at DnaA-reactivating sequences (DARS1 and DARS2), resulting in the dissociation of ADP and the release of nucleotide-free apo-DnaA, which then binds ATP to regenerate ATP-DnaA. In vivo, DARS2 plays an important role in this process and its activation is regulated by timely binding of IHF to DARS2 in the cell cycle. Chromosomal locations of DARS sites are optimized for the strict regulation for timely replication initiation. The last part of this review describes how DDAH and DARS regulate DnaA activity.

Targeting the Bacterial Orisome in the Search for New Antibiotics

There is an urgent need for new antibiotics to combat drug resistant bacteria. Existing antibiotics act on only a small number of proteins and pathways in bacterial cells, and it seems logical that expansion of the target set could lead to development of novel antimicrobial agents. One essential process, not yet exploited for antibiotic discovery, is the initiation stage of chromosome replication, mediated by the bacterial orisome. In all bacteria, orisomes assemble when the initiator protein, DnaA, as well as accessory proteins, bind to a DNA scaffold called the origin of replication (oriC). Orisomes perform the essential tasks of unwinding oriC and loading the replicative helicase, and orisome assembly is tightly regulated in the cell cycle to ensure chromosome replication begins only once. Only a few bacterial orisomes have been fully characterized, and while this lack of information complicates identification of all features that could be targeted, examination of assembly stages and orisome regulatory mechanisms may provide direction for some effective inhibitory strategies. In this perspective, we review current knowledge about orisome assembly and regulation, and identify potential targets that, when inhibited pharmacologically, would prevent bacterial chromosome replication.

Rv0004 is a new essential member of the mycobacterial DNA replication machinery

DNA replication is fundamental for life, yet a detailed understanding of bacterial DNA replication is limited outside the organisms Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis. Many bacteria, including mycobacteria, encode no identified homologs of helicase loaders or regulators of the initiator protein DnaA, despite these factors being essential for DNA replication in E. coli and B. subtilis. In this study we discover that a previously uncharacterized protein, Rv0004, from the human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis is essential for bacterial viability and that depletion of Rv0004 leads to a block in cell cycle progression. Using a combination of genetic and biochemical approaches, we found that Rv0004 has a role in DNA replication, interacts with DNA and the replicative helicase DnaB, and affects DnaB-DnaA complex formation. We also identify a conserved domain in Rv0004 that is predicted to structurally resemble the N-terminal protein-protein interaction domain of DnaA. Mutation of a single conserved tryptophan within Rv0004’s DnaA N-terminal-like domain leads to phenotypes similar to those observed upon Rv0004 depletion and can affect the association of Rv0004 with DnaB. In addition, using live cell imaging during depletion of Rv0004, we have uncovered a previously unappreciated role for DNA replication in coordinating mycobacterial cell division and cell size. Together, our data support that Rv0004 encodes a homolog of the recently identified DciA family of proteins found in most bacteria that lack the DnaC-DnaI helicase loaders in E. coli and B. subtilis. Therefore, the mechanisms of Rv0004 elucidated here likely apply to other DciA homologs and reveal insight into the diversity of bacterial strategies in even the most conserved biological processes.

DNA is the molecule that encodes all of the genetic information of an organism. In order to pass genes onto the next generation, DNA has to first be copied through a process called DNA replication. Most of the initial studies on bacterial DNA replication were performed in Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis. While these studies were very informative, there is an increasing appreciation that more distantly related bacteria have diverged from these organisms in even the most fundamental processes. Mycobacteria, a group of bacteria that includes the human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis, are distantly related to E. coli and B. subtilis and lack some of the proteins used for DNA replication in those model organisms. In this study, we discover that a previously uncharacterized protein in Mycobacteria, named Rv0004, is essential for bacterial viability and involved in DNA replication. Rv0004 is conserved in most bacteria but is absent from E. coli and B. subtilis. Since Rv0004 is essential for mycobacterial viability, this study both identifies a future target for antibiotic therapy and expands our knowledge on the diversity of bacterial DNA replication strategies, which may be applicable to other organisms.

Acetylation of Lysine 243 Inhibits the oriC Binding Ability of DnaA in Escherichia coli

DNA replication initiation is a central event in the cell cycle, and it is strictly controlled by multiple regulatory mechanisms. Our previous work showed that acetylation of residue lysine (K) 178 prevents DnaA from binding to ATP, which leads to the inhibition of DNA replication initiation. Here, we show that another residue, K243, is critical for DnaA full activity in vivo. K243 can be acetylated, and its acetylation level varies with cell growth. A homogeneous, recombinant DnaA that contains N^𝜀-acetyllysine at K243 (K243Ac) retained its ATP/ADP binding ability, but showed decreased binding activity to the oriC region. A DNase I footprinting assay showed that DnaA K243Ac failed to recognize DnaA boxes I3, C1, and C3, and, thus, it formed an incomplete initiation complex with oriC. Finally, we found that acetyl phosphate and the deacetylase CobB can regulate the acetylation level of K243 in vivo. These findings suggest that DnaA K243 acetylation disturbs its binding to low-affinity DnaA boxes, and they provide new insights into the regulatory mechanisms of DNA replication initiation.

Control of Initiation of DNA Replication in Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli

Initiation of DNA Replication is tightly regulated in all cells since imbalances in chromosomal copy number are deleterious and often lethal. In bacteria such as Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli, at the point of cytokinesis, there must be two complete copies of the chromosome to partition into the daughter cells following division at mid-cell during vegetative growth. Under conditions of rapid growth, when the time taken to replicate the chromosome exceeds the doubling time of the cells, there will be multiple initiations per cell cycle and daughter cells will inherit chromosomes that are already undergoing replication. In contrast, cells entering the sporulation pathway in B. subtilis can do so only during a short interval in the cell cycle when there are two, and only two, chromosomes per cell, one destined for the spore and one for the mother cell. Here, we briefly describe the overall process of DNA replication in bacteria before reviewing initiation of DNA replication in detail. The review covers DnaA-directed assembly of the replisome at oriC and the multitude of mechanisms of regulation of initiation, with a focus on the similarities and differences between E. coli and B. subtilis.

Near-atomic structural model for bacterial DNA replication initiation complex and its functional insights

Upon DNA replication initiation in Escherichia coli, the initiator protein DnaA forms higher-order complexes with the chromosomal origin oriC and a DNA-bending protein IHF. Although tertiary structures of DnaA and IHF have previously been elucidated, dynamic structures of oriC-DnaA-IHF complexes remain unknown. Here, combining computer simulations with biochemical assays, we obtained models at almost-atomic resolution for the central part of the oriC-DnaA-IHF complex. This complex can be divided into three subcomplexes; the left and right subcomplexes include pentameric DnaA bound in a head-to-tail manner and the middle subcomplex contains only a single DnaA. In the left and right subcomplexes, DnaA ATPases associated with various cellular activities (AAA+) domain III formed helices with specific structural differences in interdomain orientations, provoking a bend in the bound DNA. In the left subcomplex a continuous DnaA chain exists, including insertion of IHF into the DNA looping, consistent with the DNA unwinding function of the complex. The intervening spaces in those subcomplexes are crucial for DNA unwinding and loading of DnaB helicases. Taken together, this model provides a reasonable near-atomic level structural solution of the initiation complex, including the dynamic conformations and spatial arrangements of DnaA subcomplexes.

Unique and Universal Features of Epsilonproteobacterial Origins of Chromosome Replication and DnaA-DnaA Box Interactions

In bacteria, chromosome replication is initiated by the interaction of the initiator protein DnaA with a defined region of a chromosome at which DNA replication starts (oriC). While DnaA proteins share significant homology regardless of phylogeny, oriC regions exhibit more variable structures. The general architecture of oriCs is universal, i.e., they are composed of a cluster of DnaA binding sites, a DNA-unwinding element, and sequences that bind regulatory proteins. However, detailed structures of oriCs are shared by related species while being significantly different in unrelated bacteria. In this work, we characterized Epsilonproteobacterial oriC regions. Helicobacter pylori was the only species of the class for which oriC was characterized. A few unique features were found such as bipartite oriC structure, not encountered in any other Gram-negative species, and topology-sensitive DnaA-DNA interactions, which have not been found in any other bacterium. These unusual H. pylori oriC features raised questions of whether oriC structure and DnaA-DNA interactions are unique to this bacterium or whether they are common to related species. By in silico and in vitro analyses we identified putative oriCs in three Epsilonproteobacterial species: pathogenic Arcobacter butzleri, symbiotic Wolinella succinogenes, and free-living Sulfurimonas denitrificans. We propose that oriCs typically co-localize with ruvC-dnaA-dnaN in Epsilonproteobacteria, with the exception of Helicobacteriaceae species. The clusters of DnaA boxes localize upstream (oriC1) and downstream (oriC2) of dnaA, and they likely constitute bipartite origins. In all cases, DNA unwinding was shown to occur in oriC2. Unlike the DnaA box pattern, which is not conserved in Epsilonproteobacterial oriCs, the consensus DnaA box sequences and the mode of DnaA-DnaA box interactions are common to the class. We propose that the typical Epsilonproteobacterial DnaA box consists of the core nucleotide sequence 5′-TTCAC-3′ (4–8 nt), which, together with the significant changes in the DNA-binding motif of corresponding DnaAs, determines the unique molecular mechanism of DnaA-DNA interaction. Our results will facilitate identification of oriCs and subsequent identification of factors which regulate chromosome replication in other Epsilonproteobacteria. Since replication is controlled at the initiation step, it will help to better characterize life cycles of these species, many of which are considered as emerging pathogens.

DNA Replication Control Is Linked to Genomic Positioning of Control Regions in Escherichia coli

Chromosome replication in Escherichia coli is in part controlled by three non-coding genomic sequences, DARS1, DARS2, and datA that modulate the activity of the initiator protein DnaA. The relative distance from oriC to the non-coding regions are conserved among E. coli species, despite large variations in genome size. Here we use a combination of i) site directed translocation of each region to new positions on the bacterial chromosome and ii) random transposon mediated translocation followed by culture evolution, to show genetic evidence for the importance of position. Here we provide evidence that the genomic locations of these regulatory sequences are important for cell cycle control and bacterial fitness. In addition, our work shows that the functionally redundant DARS1 and DARS2 regions play different roles in replication control. DARS1 is mainly involved in maintaining the origin concentration, whether DARS2 is also involved in maintaining single cell synchrony.

Replisome Assembly at Bacterial Chromosomes and Iteron Plasmids

The proper initiation and occurrence of DNA synthesis depends on the formation and rearrangements of nucleoprotein complexes within the origin of DNA replication. In this review article, we present the current knowledge on the molecular mechanism of replication complex assembly at the origin of bacterial chromosome and plasmid replicon containing direct repeats (iterons) within the origin sequence. We describe recent findings on chromosomal and plasmid replication initiators, DnaA and Rep proteins, respectively, and their sequence-specific interactions with double- and single-stranded DNA. Also, we discuss the current understanding of the activities of DnaA and Rep proteins required for replisome assembly that is fundamental to the duplication and stability of genetic information in bacterial cells.

Characterization of newly identified DnaA and DnaB proteins from Acetobacter

Although chromosomal replication is an essential feature of the bacterial life cycle, the replication mechanism and involved molecular players have never been properly characterized in the Acetobacter genera. Thanks to whole-genome sequencing, the unknown replication proteins from Acetobacter pasteurianus and Acetobacter orleanensis, DnaA-like and DnaB-like, could be identified. Despite the low nucleotide or amino acid similarity to the respective orthologs from Escherichia coli, their involvement during replication regulation was corroborated by artificial microRNA. In the Acetobacter genome, a novel replication origin, oriAo, was detected with three 9-nucleotide-long DnaA boxes to which DnaA-like proteins bind actively. Bacterial two-hybrid systems and co-immunoprecipitation confirmed the homologous and heterologous interactions between DnaA-like and DnaB-like proteins with their E. coli orthologs. This communication is due to the conserved tryptophan at position 6 for E. coli or 25 for Acetobacter that unables DnaA-like proteins to form oligomeric protein structures after its substitution. Altogether, these results provide novel insights into the genome replication mechanism in Acetobacter.

Replication Initiation in Bacteria

The initiation of chromosomal DNA replication starts at a replication origin, which in bacteria is a discrete locus that contains DNA sequence motifs recognized by an initiator protein whose role is to assemble the replication fork machinery at this site. In bacteria with a single chromosome, DnaA is the initiator and is highly conserved in all bacteria. As an adenine nucleotide binding protein, DnaA bound to ATP is active in the assembly of a DnaA oligomer onto these sites. Other proteins modulate DnaA oligomerization via their interaction with the N-terminal region of DnaA. Following the DnaA-dependent unwinding of an AT-rich region within the replication origin, DnaA then mediates the binding of DnaB, the replicative DNA helicase, in a complex with DnaC to form an intermediate named the prepriming complex. In the formation of this intermediate, the helicase is loaded onto the unwound region within the replication origin. As DnaC bound to DnaB inhibits its activity as a DNA helicase, DnaC must dissociate to activate DnaB. Apparently, the interaction of DnaB with primase (DnaG) and primer formation leads to the release of DnaC from DnaB, which is coordinated with or followed by translocation of DnaB to the junction of the replication fork. There, DnaB is able to coordinate its activity as a DNA helicase with the cellular replicase, DNA polymerase III holoenzyme, which uses the primers made by primase for leading strand DNA synthesis.

DNA Methylation

The DNA of Escherichia coli contains 19,120 6-methyladenines and 12,045 5-methylcytosines in addition to the four regular bases, and these are formed by the postreplicative action of three DNA methyltransferases. The majority of the methylated bases are formed by the Dam and Dcm methyltransferases encoded by the dam (DNA adenine methyltransferase) and dcm (DNA cytosine methyltransferase) genes. Although not essential, Dam methylation is important for strand discrimination during the repair of replication errors, controlling the frequency of initiation of chromosome replication at oriC, and the regulation of transcription initiation at promoters containing GATC sequences. In contrast, there is no known function for Dcm methylation, although Dcm recognition sites constitute sequence motifs for Very Short Patch repair of T/G base mismatches. In certain bacteria (e.g., Vibrio cholerae, Caulobacter crescentus) adenine methylation is essential, and, in C. crescentus, it is important for temporal gene expression, which, in turn, is required for coordinating chromosome initiation, replication, and division. In practical terms, Dam and Dcm methylation can inhibit restriction enzyme cleavage, decrease transformation frequency in certain bacteria, and decrease the stability of short direct repeats and are necessary for site-directed mutagenesis and to probe eukaryotic structure and function.

Initiation of DNA Replication

In recent years it has become clear that complex regulatory circuits control the initiation step of DNA replication by directing the assembly of a multicomponent molecular machine (the orisome) that separates DNA strands and loads replicative helicase at oriC, the unique chromosomal origin of replication. This chapter discusses recent efforts to understand the regulated protein-DNA interactions that are responsible for properly timed initiation of chromosome replication. It reviews information about newly identified nucleotide sequence features within Escherichia coli oriC and the new structural and biochemical attributes of the bacterial initiator protein DnaA. It also discusses the coordinated mechanisms that prevent improperly timed DNA replication. Identification of the genes that encoded the initiators came from studies on temperature-sensitive, conditional-lethal mutants of E. coli, in which two DNA replication-defective phenotypes, "immediate stop" mutants and "delayed stop" mutants, were identified. The kinetics of the delayed stop mutants suggested that the defective gene products were required specifically for the initiation step of DNA synthesis, and subsequently, two genes, dnaA and dnaC, were identified. The DnaA protein is the bacterial initiator, and in E. coli, the DnaC protein is required to load replicative helicase. Regulation of DnaA accessibility to oriC, the ordered assembly and disassembly of a multi-DnaA complex at oriC, and the means by which DnaA unwinds oriC remain important questions to be answered and the chapter discusses the current state of knowledge on these topics.

Control regions for chromosome replication are conserved with respect to sequence and location among Escherichia coli strains

In Escherichia coli, chromosome replication is initiated from oriC by the DnaA initiator protein associated with ATP. Three non-coding regions contribute to the activity of DnaA. The datA locus is instrumental in conversion of DnaA^ATP to DnaA^ADP (datA dependent DnaA^ATP hydrolysis) whereas DnaA rejuvenation sequences 1 and 2 (DARS1 and DARS2) reactivate DnaA^ADP to DnaA^ATP. The structural organization of oriC, datA, DARS1, and DARS2 were found conserved among 59 fully sequenced E. coli genomes, with differences primarily in the non-functional spacer regions between key protein binding sites. The relative distances from oriC to datA, DARS1, and DARS2, respectively, was also conserved despite of large variations in genome size, suggesting that the gene dosage of either region is important for bacterial growth. Yet all three regions could be deleted alone or in combination without loss of viability. Competition experiments during balanced growth in rich medium and during mouse colonization indicated roles of datA, DARS1, and DARS2 for bacterial fitness although the relative contribution of each region differed between growth conditions. We suggest that this fitness advantage has contributed to conservation of both sequence and chromosomal location for datA, DARS1, and DARS2.

The orisome: structure and function

During the cell division cycle of all bacteria, DNA-protein complexes termed orisomes trigger the onset of chromosome duplication. Orisome assembly is both staged and stringently regulated to ensure that DNA synthesis begins at a precise time and only once at each origin per cycle. Orisomes comprise multiple copies of the initiator protein DnaA, which oligomerizes after interacting with specifically positioned recognition sites in the unique chromosomal replication origin, oriC. Since DnaA is highly conserved, it is logical to expect that all bacterial orisomes will share fundamental attributes. Indeed, although mechanistic details remain to be determined, all bacterial orisomes are capable of unwinding oriC DNA and assisting with loading of DNA helicase onto the single-strands. However, comparative analysis of oriCs reveals that the arrangement and number of DnaA recognition sites is surprisingly variable among bacterial types, suggesting there are many paths to produce functional orisome complexes. Fundamental questions exist about why these different paths exist and which features of orisomes must be shared among diverse bacterial types. In this review we present the current understanding of orisome assembly and function in Escherichia coli and compare the replication origins among the related members of the Gammaproteobacteria. From this information we propose that the diversity in orisome assembly reflects both the requirement to regulate the conformation of origin DNA as well as to provide an appropriate cell cycle timing mechanism that reflects the lifestyle of the bacteria. We suggest that identification of shared steps in orisome assembly may reveal particularly good targets for new antibiotics.

oriC-encoded instructions for the initiation of bacterial chromosome replication

Replication of the bacterial chromosome initiates at a single origin of replication that is called oriC. This occurs via the concerted action of numerous proteins, including DnaA, which acts as an initiator. The origin sequences vary across species, but all bacterial oriCs contain the information necessary to guide assembly of the DnaA protein complex at oriC, triggering the unwinding of DNA and the beginning of replication. The requisite information is encoded in the unique arrangement of specific sequences called DnaA boxes, which form a framework for DnaA binding and assembly. Other crucial sequences of bacterial origin include DNA unwinding element (DUE, which designates the site at which oriC melts under the influence of DnaA) and binding sites for additional proteins that positively or negatively regulate the initiation process. In this review, we summarize our current knowledge and understanding of the information encoded in bacterial origins of chromosomal replication, particularly in the context of replication initiation and its regulation. We show that oriC encoded instructions allow not only for initiation but also for precise regulation of replication initiation and coordination of chromosomal replication with the cell cycle (also in response to environmental signals). We focus on Escherichia coli, and then expand our discussion to include several other microorganisms in which additional regulatory proteins have been recently shown to be involved in coordinating replication initiation to other cellular processes (e.g., Bacillus, Caulobacter, Helicobacter, Mycobacterium, and Streptomyces). We discuss diversity of bacterial oriC regions with the main focus on roles of individual DNA recognition sequences at oriC in binding the initiator and regulatory proteins as well as the overall impact of these proteins on the formation of initiation complex.

Assembly of Helicobacter pylori initiation complex is determined by sequence-specific and topology-sensitive DnaA-oriC interactions

In bacteria, chromosome replication is initiated by binding of the DnaA initiator protein to DnaA boxes located in the origin of chromosomal replication (oriC). This leads to DNA helix opening within the DNA-unwinding element. Helicobacter pylori oriC, the first bipartite origin identified in Gram-negative bacteria, contains two subregions, oriC1 and oriC2, flanking the dnaA gene. The DNA-unwinding element region is localized in the oriC2 subregion downstream of dnaA. Surprisingly, oriC2-DnaA interactions were shown to depend on DNA topology, which is unusual in bacteria but is similar to initiator-origin interactions observed in higher organisms. In this work, we identified three DnaA boxes in the oriC2 subregion, two of which were bound only as supercoiled DNA. We found that all three DnaA boxes play important roles in orisome assembly and subsequent DNA unwinding, but different functions can be assigned to individual boxes. This suggests that the H. pylori oriC may be functionally divided, similar to what was described recently for Escherichia coli oriC. On the basis of these results, we propose a model of initiation complex formation in H. pylori.

Beyond DnaA: the role of DNA topology and DNA methylation in bacterial replication initiation

The replication of chromosomal DNA is a fundamental event in the life cycle of every cell. The first step of replication, initiation, is controlled by multiple factors to ensure only one round of replication per cell cycle. The process of initiation has been described most thoroughly for bacteria, especially Escherichia coli, and involves many regulatory proteins that vary considerably between different species. These proteins control the activity of the two key players of initiation in bacteria: the initiator protein DnaA and the origin of chromosome replication (oriC). Factors involved in the control of the availability, activity, or oligomerization of DnaA during initiation are generally regarded as the most important and thus have been thoroughly characterized. Other aspects of the initiation process, such as origin accessibility and susceptibility to unwinding, have been less explored. However, recent findings indicate that these factors have a significant role. This review focuses on DNA topology, conformation, and methylation as important factors that regulate the initiation process in bacteria. We present a comprehensive summary of the factors involved in the modulation of DNA topology, both locally at oriC and more globally at the level of the entire chromosome. We show clearly that the conformation of oriC dynamically changes, and control of this conformation constitutes another, important factor in the regulation of bacterial replication initiation. Furthermore, the process of initiation appears to be associated with the dynamics of the entire chromosome and this association is an important but largely unexplored phenomenon.

Building the bacterial orisome: high-affinity DnaA recognition plays a role in setting the conformation of oriC DNA

During assembly of the E. coli pre-replicative complex (pre-RC), initiator DnaA oligomers are nucleated from three widely separated high-affinity DnaA recognition sites in oriC. Oligomer assembly is then guided by low-affinity DnaA recognition sites, but is also regulated by a switch-like conformational change in oriC mediated by sequential binding of two DNA bending proteins, Fis and IHF, serving as inhibitor and activator respectively. Although their recognition sites are separated by up to 90 bp, Fis represses IHF binding and weak DnaA interactions until accumulating DnaA displaces Fis from oriC. It remains unclear whether high-affinity DnaA binding plays any role in Fis repression at a distance and it is also not known whether all high-affinity DnaA recognition sites play an equivalent role in oligomer formation. To examine these issues, we developed origin-selective recombineering methods to mutate E. coli chromosomal oriC. We found that, although oligomers were assembled in the absence of any individual high-affinity DnaA binding site, loss of DnaA binding at peripheral sites eliminated Fis repression, and made binding of both Fis and IHF essential. We propose a model in which interaction of DnaA molecules at high-affinity sites regulates oriC DNA conformation.

Regulating DNA replication in bacteria

The replication origin and the initiator protein DnaA are the main targets for regulation of chromosome replication in bacteria. The origin bears multiple DnaA binding sites, while DnaA contains ATP/ADP-binding and DNA-binding domains. When enough ATP-DnaA has accumulated in the cell, an active initiation complex can be formed at the origin resulting in strand opening and recruitment of the replicative helicase. In Escherichia coli, oriC activity is directly regulated by DNA methylation and specific oriC-binding proteins. DnaA activity is regulated by proteins that stimulate ATP-DnaA hydrolysis, yielding inactive ADP-DnaA in a replication-coupled negative-feedback manner, and by DnaA-binding DNA elements that control the subcellular localization of DnaA or stimulate the ADP-to-ATP exchange of the DnaA-bound nucleotide. Regulation of dnaA gene expression is also important for initiation. The principle of replication-coupled negative regulation of DnaA found in E. coli is conserved in eukaryotes as well as in bacteria. Regulations by oriC-binding proteins and dnaA gene expression are also conserved in bacteria.

DnaA binding locus datA promotes DnaA-ATP hydrolysis to enable cell cycle-coordinated replication initiation

The initiation of chromosomal DNA replication is rigidly regulated to ensure that it occurs in a cell cycle-coordinated manner. To ensure this in Escherichia coli, multiple systems regulate the activity of the replication initiator ATP-DnaA. The level of ATP-DnaA increases before initiation after which it drops via DnaA-ATP hydrolysis, yielding initiation-inactive ADP-DnaA. DnaA-ATP hydrolysis is crucial to regulation of initiation and mainly occurs by a replication-coupled feedback mechanism named RIDA (regulatory inactivation of DnaA). Here, we report a second DnaA-ATP hydrolysis system that occurs at the chromosomal site datA. This locus has been annotated as a reservoir for DnaA that binds many DnaA molecules in a manner dependent upon the nucleoid-associated factor IHF (integration host factor), resulting in repression of untimely initiations; however, there is no direct evidence for the binding of many DnaA molecules at this locus. We reveal that a complex consisting of datA and IHF promotes DnaA-ATP hydrolysis in a manner dependent on specific inter-DnaA interactions. Deletion of datA or the ihf gene increased ATP-DnaA levels to the maximal attainable levels in RIDA-defective cells. Cell-cycle analysis suggested that IHF binds to datA just after replication initiation at a time when RIDA is activated. We propose a model in which cell cycle-coordinated ATP-DnaA inactivation is regulated in a concerted manner by RIDA and datA.

Localization of acidic phospholipid cardiolipin and DnaA in mycobacteria

Acidic phospholipids such as cardiolipin (CL) have been shown to modulate Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) DnaA interactions with ATP. In the present study, using nonyl acridine orange fluorescent dye we localized CL-enriched regions to midcell septa and poles of actively dividing cells. We also found that CL-enriched regions were not visualized in cells defective for septa formation as a consequence of altered FtsZ levels. Using Mtb cultures synchronized for DNA replication we show that CL localization could be used as a marker for cell division and cell cycle progression. Finally, we show that the localization pattern of the DnaA-green fluorescent fusion protein is similar to CL. Our results suggest that DnaA colocalizes with CL during cell cycle progression.

Two oppositely oriented arrays of low-affinity recognition sites in oriC guide progressive binding of DnaA during Escherichia coli pre-RC assembly

The onset of chromosomal DNA replication requires highly precise and reproducible interactions between initiator proteins and replication origins to assemble a pre-replicative complex (pre-RC) that unwinds the DNA duplex. In bacteria, initiator protein DnaA, bound to specific high- and low-affinity recognition sites within the unique oriC locus, comprises the pre-RC, but how complex assembly is choreographed to ensure precise initiation timing during the cell cycle is not well understood. In this study, we present evidence that higher-order DnaA structures are formed at oriC when DnaA monomers are closely positioned on the same face of the DNA helix by interaction with two oppositely oriented essential arrays of closely spaced low-affinity DnaA binding sites. As DnaA levels increase, peripheral high-affinity anchor sites begin cooperative loading of the arrays, which is extended by sequential binding of additional DnaA monomers resulting in growth of the complexes towards the centre of oriC. We suggest that this polarized assembly of unique DnaA oligomers within oriC plays an important role in mediating pre-RC activity and may be a feature found in all bacterial replication origins.

Remodeling of nucleoprotein complexes is independent of the nucleotide state of a mutant AAA+ protein

DnaA protein, a member of the AAA+ (ATPase associated with various cellular activities) family, initiates DNA synthesis at the chromosomal origin of replication (oriC) and regulates the transcription of several genes, including its own. The assembly of DnaA complexes at chromosomal recognition sequences is affected by the tight binding of ATP or ADP by DnaA. DnaA with a point mutation in its membrane-binding amphipathic helix, DnaA(L366K), previously described for its ability to support growth in cells with altered phospholipid content, has biochemical characteristics similar to those of the wild-type protein. Yet DnaA(L366K) fails to initiate in vitro or in vivo replication from oriC. We found here, through in vitro dimethyl sulfate footprinting and gel mobility shift assays, that DnaA(L366K) in either nucleotide state was unable to assemble into productive prereplication complexes. In contrast, at the dnaA promoter, both the ATP and the ADP form of DnaA(L366K) generated active nucleoprotein complexes that efficiently repressed transcription in a manner similar to wild-type ATP-DnaA. Thus, it appears that unlike wild-type DnaA protein DnaA(L366K) can adopt architectures that are independent of its bound nucleotide, and instead the locus determines the functionality of the higher order DnaA(L366K)-DNA complexes.

Regulating DnaA complex assembly: it is time to fill the gaps

New rounds of bacterial chromosome replication are triggered during each cell division cycle by the initiator protein, DnaA. For precise timing, interactions of DnaA-ATP monomers with the replication origin, oriC, must be carefully regulated during formation of complexes that unwind origin DNA and load replicative helicase. Recent studies in Escherichia coli suggest that high and low affinity DnaA recognition sites are positioned within oriC to direct staged assembly of bacterial pre-replication complexes, with DnaA contacting low affinity sites as it oligomerizes to 'fill the gaps' between high affinity sites. The wide variability of oriC DnaA recognition site patterns seen in nature may reflect myriad gap-filling strategies needed to couple oriC function to the lifestyle of different bacterial types.

Bacterial origin recognition complexes direct assembly of higher-order DnaA oligomeric structures

Eukaryotic initiator proteins form origin recognition complexes (ORCs) that bind to replication origins during most of the cell cycle and direct assembly of prereplication complexes (pre-RCs) before the onset of S phase. In the eubacterium Escherichia coli, there is a temporally similar nucleoprotein complex comprising the initiator protein DnaA bound to three high-affinity recognition sites in the unique origin of replication, oriC. At the time of initiation, this high-affinity DnaA-oriC complex (the bacterial ORC) accumulates additional DnaA that interacts with lower-affinity sites in oriC, forming a pre-RC. In this paper, we investigate the functional role of the bacterial ORC and examine whether it mediates low-affinity DnaA-oriC interactions during pre-RC assembly. We report that E. coli ORC is essential for DnaA occupation of low-affinity sites. The assistance given by ORC is directed primarily to proximal weak sites and requires oligomerization-proficient DnaA. We propose that in bacteria, DnaA oligomers of limited length and stability emerge from single high-affinity sites and extend toward weak sites to facilitate their loading as a key stage of prokaryotic pre-RC assembly.

The right half of the Escherichia coli replication origin is not essential for viability, but facilitates multi-forked replication

Replication initiation is a key event in the cell cycle of all organisms and oriC, the replication origin in Escherichia coli, serves as the prototypical model for this process. The minimal sequence required for oriC function was originally determined entirely from plasmid studies using cloned origin fragments, which have previously been shown to differ dramatically in sequence requirement from the chromosome. Using an in vivo recombineering strategy to exchange wt oriCs for mutated ones regardless of whether they are functional origins or not, we have determined the minimal origin sequence that will support chromosome replication. Nearly the entire right half of oriC could be deleted without loss of origin function, demanding a reassessment of existing models for initiation. Cells carrying the new DnaA box-depleted 163 bp minimal oriC exhibited little or no loss of fitness under slow-growth conditions, but were sensitive to rich medium, suggesting that the dense packing of initiator binding sites that is a hallmark of prokaryotic origins, has likely evolved to support the increased demands of multi-forked replication.

DnaA structure, function, and dynamics in the initiation at the chromosomal origin

Escherichia coli DnaA is the initiator of chromosomal replication. Multiple ATP-DnaA molecules assemble at the oriC replication origin in a highly regulated manner, and the resultant initiation complexes promote local duplex unwinding within oriC, resulting in open complexes. DnaB helicase is loaded onto the unwound single-stranded region within oriC via interaction with the DnaA multimers. The tertiary structure of the functional domains of DnaA has been determined and several crucial residues in the initiation process, as well as their unique functions, have been identified. These include specific DNA binding, inter-DnaA interaction, specific and regulatory interactions with ATP and with the unwound single-stranded oriC DNA, and functional interaction with DnaB helicase. An overall structure of the initiation complex is also proposed. These are important for deepening our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underlie DnaA assembly, oriC duplex unwinding, regulation of the initiation reaction, and DnaB helicase loading. In this review, we summarize recent progress on the molecular mechanisms of the functions of DnaA on oriC. In addition, some members of the AAA+ protein family related to the initiation of replication and its regulation (e.g., DnaA) are briefly discussed.

Initiator titration complex formed at datA with the aid of IHF regulates replication timing in Escherichia coli

The initiation of replication in Escherichia coli is negatively controlled by a mechanism referred to as 'initiator titration', a process by which the initiator protein, DnaA, is titrated to newly replicated binding sequences on the chromosome to reduce the initiation potential for replication. Initiator titration occurs predominantly at the datA locus that binds exceptionally large amounts of DnaA molecules to prevent aberrant initiations. We found that this was enabled by integration host factor (IHF). Within datA, there is a consensus IHF recognition sequence between the two DnaA recognition sequences (DnaA boxes) essential for its function. Binding of IHF to this site was demonstrated both in vitro and in vivo. Disruption of the core sequence in the consensus of the IHF-binding resulted in increased origin concentration as observed in Delta datA cells. Furthermore, the number of DnaA molecules bound to datA was reduced in cells carrying a disruption in the IHF-binding core sequence. The IHF-binding site and the essential DnaA boxes had to be located at a proper distance and orientation to maintain the accurate initiation timing. Therefore, IHF is a unique element in the control of replication initiation that acts negatively at datA, while known to act as a positive regulator at oriC.

DnaA protein interacts with RNA polymerase and partially protects it from the effect of rifampicin

The Escherichia coli DnaA protein forms an oligomer at the origin and initiates chromosome replication with the aid of architectural elements and transcription by RNA polymerase. Rifampicin inhibits initiation of transcription by RNA polymerase and thus also initiation of replication. Here, we report that wild-type cells undergo rifampicin-resistant initiation of replication during slow growth in acetate medium. The rifampicin-resistant initiation was prevented by reducing the availability of DnaA. In vitro experiments showed that the DnaA protein interacted with RNA polymerase and that it afforded a partial protection from the negative effect of rifampicin. It is possible that rifampicin-resistant rounds of replication occur when a surplus of DnaA is available at the origin. In rich medium wild-type cells do not exhibit rifampicin-resistant rounds of replication, possibly indicating that there is no surplus DnaA, and that DnaA activity is the factor limiting the process of initiation. During growth in acetate medium, on the contrary, DnaA activity is not limiting in the same way because an initiation potential is present and can be turned into extra rounds of replication when rifampicin is added. The result suggests that regulation of replication initiation may differ at different growth rates.

AAA+ ATPases in the initiation of DNA replication

All cellular organisms and many viruses rely on large, multi-subunit molecular machines, termed replisomes, to ensure that genetic material is accurately duplicated for transmission from one generation to the next. Replisome assembly is facilitated by dedicated initiator proteins, which serve to both recognize replication origins and recruit requisite replisomal components to the DNA in a cell-cycle coordinated manner. Exactly how imitators accomplish this task, and the extent to which initiator mechanisms are conserved among different organisms have remained outstanding issues. Recent structural and biochemical findings have revealed that all cellular initiators, as well as the initiators of certain classes of double-stranded DNA viruses, possess a common adenine nucleotide-binding fold belonging to the ATPases Associated with various cellular Activities (AAA+) family. This review focuses on how the AAA+ domain has been recruited and adapted to control the initiation of DNA replication, and how the use of this ATPase module underlies a common set of initiator assembly states and functions. How biochemical and structural properties correlate with initiator activity, and how species-specific modifications give rise to unique initiator functions, are also discussed.

Mutational analysis reveals Escherichia coli oriC interacts with both DnaA-ATP and DnaA-ADP during pre-RC assembly

Prior to initiating DNA synthesis, Escherichia coli oriC switches from ORC, comprising initiator DnaA bound at three high-affinity sites, to pre-RC, when additional DnaA molecules interact with low-affinity sites. Two types of low-affinity sites exist: R boxes that bind DnaA-ATP and DnaA-ADP with equal affinity, and I-sites with a three- to fourfold preference for DnaA-ATP. To assess the regulatory role of weak DnaA interactions during pre-RC assembly in vivo, we compared the behaviour of plasmid-borne wild-type oriC with mutants having an increased or decreased number of DnaA-ATP discriminatory I-sites. Increasing the number of discriminatory sites by replacing R5M with I2 inactivated extrachromosomal oriC function. Mutants with no discriminatory sites perturbed host growth and rapidly replaced wild-type chromosomal oriC, but normal function returned if one I-site was restored at either the I2, I3 or R5M position. These observations are consistent with assembly of E. coli pre-RC in vivo from mixtures of DnaA-ATP and DnaA-ADP, with I-site interactions coupling pre-RC assembly to DnaA-ATP levels.

IHF-dependent activation of P1 plasmid origin by dnaA

In bacteria, many DNA-protein interactions that initiate transcription, replication and recombination require the mediation of DNA architectural proteins such as IHF and HU. For replication initiation, plasmid P1 requires three origin binding proteins: the architectural protein HU, a plasmid-specific initiator, RepA, and the Escherichia coli chromosomal initiator, DnaA. The two initiators bind in the origin of replication to multiple sites, called iterons and DnaA boxes respectively. We show here that all five known DnaA boxes can be deleted from the plasmid origin provided the origin is extended by about 120 bp. The additional DNA provides an IHF site and most likely a weak DnaA binding site, because replacing the putative site with an authentic DnaA box enhanced plasmid replication in an IHF-dependent manner. IHF most likely brings about interactions between distally bound DnaA and RepA by bending the intervening DNA. The role of IHF in activating P1 origin by allowing DnaA binding to a weak site is reminiscent of the role the protein plays in initiating the host chromosomal replication.

DNA replication initiation: mechanisms and regulation in bacteria

In all organisms, multi-subunit replicases are responsible for the accurate duplication of genetic material during cellular division. Initiator proteins control the onset of DNA replication and direct the assembly of replisomal components through a series of precisely timed protein-DNA and protein-protein interactions. Recent structural studies of the bacterial protein DnaA have helped to clarify the molecular mechanisms underlying initiator function, and suggest that key structural features of cellular initiators are universally conserved. Moreover, it appears that bacteria use a diverse range of regulatory strategies dedicated to tightly controlling replication initiation; in many cases, these mechanisms are intricately connected to the activities of DnaA at the origin of replication. This Review presents an overview of both the mechanism and regulation of bacterial DNA replication initiation, with emphasis on the features that are similar in eukaryotic and archaeal systems.

Mechanism for the TtDnaA-Tt-oriC cooperative interaction at high temperature and duplex opening at an unusual AT-rich region in Thermoanaerobacter tengcongensis

Thermoanaerobacter tengcongensis is an anaerobic low-GC thermophilic bacterium. To further elucidate the replication initiation of chromosomal DNA at high temperature, the interaction between the replication initiator (TtDnaA) and the putative origin (Tt-oriC) in this thermophile was investigated. We found that efficient binding of TtDnaA to Tt-oriC at high temperature requires (i) at least two neighboring DnaA boxes, (ii) the specific feature of the TtDnaA Domain IV and (iii) the self-oligomerization of TtDnaA. Replacement of the TtDnaA Domain IV by the counterpart of Escherichia coli DnaA or disruption of its oligomerization by amino acid mutations (W9A/L20S) abolished the oriC-binding activity of TtDnaA at 60 degrees C, but not at 37 degrees C. Moreover, ATP-TtDnaA, but not ADP-TtDnaA or the oligomerization-deficient mutants was able to unwind the Tt-oriC duplex. The minimal oriC required for this duplex opening in vitro was demonstrated to consist of DnaA boxes 1-8 and an unusual AT-rich region. Interestingly, although no typical ATP-DnaA box was found in this AT-rich region, it was exclusively bound by ATP-TtDnaA and acted as the duplex-opening and replication-initiation site. Taken together, we propose that oligomerization of ATP-DnaA and simultaneously binding of several DnaA boxes and/or AT-rich region may be generally required in replication initiation at high temperature.

SeqA blocking of DnaA-oriC interactions ensures staged assembly of the E. coli pre-RC

DnaA occupies only the three highest-affinity binding sites in E. coli oriC throughout most of the cell cycle. Immediately prior to initiation of chromosome replication, DnaA interacts with additional recognition sites, resulting in localized DNA-strand separation. These two DnaA-oriC complexes formed during the cell cycle are functionally and temporally analogous to yeast ORC and pre-RC. After initiation, SeqA binds to hemimethylated oriC, sequestering oriC while levels of active DnaA are reduced, preventing reinitiation. In this paper, we investigate how resetting of oriC to the ORC-like complex is coordinated with SeqA-mediated sequestration. We report that oriC resets to ORC during sequestration. This was possible because SeqA blocked DnaA binding to hemimethylated oriC only at low-affinity recognition sites associated with GATC but did not interfere with occupation of higher-affinity sites. Thus, during the sequestration period, SeqA repressed pre-RC assembly while ensuring resetting of E. coli ORC.

Sequence characteristics required for cooperative binding and efficient in vivo titration of the replication initiator protein DnaA in E. coli

Plasmids carrying the mioC promoter region, which contains two DnaA boxes, R5 and R6 with one misfit to the consensus TT(A)/(T)TNCACA, are as efficient in in vivo titration of the DnaA protein as plasmids carrying a replication-inactivated oriC region with its eight DnaA boxes. Three additional DnaA boxes around the promoter proximal R5 DnaA box were identified and shown by mutational analysis to be necessary for the cooperative binding of DnaA required for titration. These four DnaA boxes are located in the same orientation and with a spacing of two or three base-pairs. The cooperative binding was eliminated by insertion of half a helical turn between any of the DnaA boxes. Titration strongly depends on the presence and orientation of the promoter distal R6 DnaA box located 104 bp upstream of the R5 box as well as neighbouring sequences downstream of R6. Titration depends on the integrity of a 43 bp region containing the R5 DnaA box, while repression of mioC transcription by DnaA, which is dependent on the R5 DnaA box, was independent of the two DnaA boxes downstream of R5. Repression was also independent of the spacing between the two upstream DnaA boxes and the promoter as long as a DnaA box was located less than 20 bp upstream of the -35 sequence. Thus, the architectural requirements for titration and for repression of transcription are different. A new set of rules for identifying efficiently titrating DnaA box regions was formulated and used to analyse sequences for which good titration data are available.

Phylogenetic analysis of enteric species of the family Enterobacteriaceae using the oriC-locus

Phylogenetic analysis of 38 enteric species belonging to the Enterobacteraceae family was carried out using the non-coding locus oriC, the chromosomal replication origin. The oriC loci were amplified with conserved oligonucleotides and the PCR fragments were sequenced directly. The results establish a phylogenetic tree for the classification of different species of the genera Escherichia, Shigella, Salmonella, Enterobacter, Citrobacter, Klebsiella, Raoultella, Kluyvera, Cedecea and Buttiauxella. Functional important protein-binding sites located in oriC are well conserved throughout the enteric group. More over, due to a high overall divergence value phylogenetic trees were robust and well supported by bootstrap analysis. In comparison with 16S rDNA analysis, the oriC sequences indicated a greater evolutionary divergence for bacteria. We propose that the oriC locus might be a suitable phylogenetic marker for the identification and classification of bacteria, in particular for closely related species.

Interaction of initiator proteins with the origin of replication of an IncL/M plasmid

The origin of replication of the IncL/M plasmid pMU604 was analyzed to identify sequences important for binding of initiator proteins and origin activity. A thrice repeated sequence motif 5'-NANCYGCAA-3' was identified as the binding site (RepA box) of the initiator protein, RepA. All three copies of the RepA box were required for in vivo activity and binding of RepA to these boxes appeared to be cooperative. A DnaA R box (box 1), located immediately upstream of the RepA boxes, was not required for recruitment of DnaA during initiation of replication by RepA of pMU604 unless a DnaA R box located at the distal end of the origin (box 3) had been inactivated. However, DnaA R box 1 was important for recruitment of DnaA to the origin of replication of pMU604 when the initiator RepA was that from a distantly related plasmid, pMU720. A mutation which scrambled DnaA R boxes 1 and 3 and one which scrambled DnaA R boxes 1, 3 and 4 had much more deleterious effects on initiation by RepA of pMU720 than on initiation by RepA of pMU604. Neither Rep protein could initiate replication from the origin of pMU604 in the absence of DnaA, suggesting that the difference between them might lie in the mechanism of recruitment of DnaA to this origin. DnaA protein enhanced the binding and origin unwinding activities of RepA of pMU604, but appeared unable to bind to a linear DNA fragment bearing the origin of replication of pMU604 in the absence of other proteins.