Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, PO Box 111, 80101 Joensuu, Finland.
Radboud Center for Mitochondrial Medicine, Department of Paediatrics, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Nucleic Acids Res. 2022 Aug 26;50(15):8733-8748. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkac660.
Mitochondrial DNA has been investigated for nearly fifty years, but many aspects of the maintenance of this essential small genome remain unknown. Like any genome, mammalian mitochondrial DNA requires the function of topoisomerases to counter and regulate the topological tension arising during replication, transcription, segregation, and repair. However, the functions of the different mitochondrial topoisomerases are poorly understood. Here, we investigate the role of Topoisomerase 3α (Top3α) in mtDNA replication and transcription, providing evidence that this enzyme, previously reported to act in mtDNA segregation, also participates in mtDNA replication fork progression. Top3α knockdown caused replication fork stalling, increased mtDNA catenation and decreased mtDNA levels. Overexpression in contrast induced abundant double-strand breaks around the replication origin OH and abortion of early replication, while at the same time improving the resolution of mtDNA replication termination intermediates. Both Top3α knockdown and overexpression affected mitochondrial RNA transcription, leading to a decrease in steady-state levels of mitochondrial transcripts. Together, our results indicate that the mitochondrial isoform of Top3α is not only involved in mtDNA segregation, as reported previously, but also supports the progression of the replication fork. Mitochondrial Top3α is also influencing the progression of transcription, with its absence affecting downstream transcript levels.
线粒体 DNA 已经被研究了近五十年,但这个至关重要的小基因组的许多维持方面仍然未知。与任何基因组一样,哺乳动物线粒体 DNA 需要拓扑异构酶的功能来对抗和调节复制、转录、分离和修复过程中产生的拓扑张力。然而,不同的线粒体拓扑异构酶的功能还知之甚少。在这里,我们研究了拓扑异构酶 3α(Top3α)在 mtDNA 复制和转录中的作用,提供了证据表明,这种先前报道在 mtDNA 分离中起作用的酶也参与 mtDNA 复制叉的进展。Top3α 敲低导致复制叉停滞,mtDNA 连环增加,mtDNA 水平降低。相反,过表达诱导大量双链断裂围绕复制原点 OH 发生,并导致早期复制中止,同时改善 mtDNA 复制终止中间体的分辨率。Top3α 敲低和过表达都影响线粒体 RNA 转录,导致线粒体转录物的稳态水平下降。总之,我们的结果表明,线粒体拓扑异构酶 3α 的同工酶不仅如先前报道的那样参与 mtDNA 分离,而且还支持复制叉的进展。线粒体 Top3α 也在影响转录的进展,其缺失会影响下游转录物水平。