Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Baylor University, Waco, TX, 76706, USA.
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, 38105, USA.
Nat Commun. 2022 Aug 30;13(1):5090. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-32583-8.
The minichromosome maintenance (MCM) 8/9 helicase is a AAA complex involved in DNA replication-associated repair. Despite high sequence homology to the MCM2-7 helicase, a precise cellular role for MCM8/9 has remained elusive. We have interrogated the DNA synthesis ability and replication fork stability in cells lacking MCM8 or 9 and find that there is a functional partitioning of MCM8/9 activity between promoting replication fork progression and protecting persistently stalled forks. The helicase function of MCM8/9 aids in normal replication fork progression, but upon persistent stalling, MCM8/9 directs additional downstream stabilizers, including BRCA1 and Rad51, to protect forks from excessive degradation. Loss of MCM8 or 9 slows the overall replication rate and allows for excessive nascent strand degradation, detectable by increased markers of genomic damage. This evidence defines multifunctional roles for MCM8/9 in promoting normal replication fork progression and genome integrity following stress.
微小染色体维持(MCM)8/9 解旋酶是一种参与 DNA 复制相关修复的 AAA 复合物。尽管与 MCM2-7 解旋酶具有高度的序列同源性,但 MCM8/9 的精确细胞作用仍然难以捉摸。我们研究了缺乏 MCM8 或 9 的细胞的 DNA 合成能力和复制叉稳定性,发现 MCM8/9 活性在促进复制叉进展和保护持续停滞的叉之间存在功能分区。MCM8/9 的解旋酶功能有助于正常的复制叉进展,但在持续停滞时,MCM8/9 将其他下游稳定剂,包括 BRCA1 和 Rad51,引导到叉上,以防止过度降解。MCM8 或 9 的缺失会降低整体复制速度,并允许过多的新生链降解,这可以通过增加基因组损伤的标志物来检测到。这一证据定义了 MCM8/9 在促进正常复制叉进展和压力后基因组完整性方面的多功能作用。