DNA replication is spatially and temporally regulated during S‐phase. DNA replication timing is established in early‐G1‐phase at a point referred to as timing decision point. However, how the ...genome‐wide replication timing domains are established is unknown. Here, we show that Rif1 (Rap1‐interacting‐factor‐1), originally identified as a telomere‐binding factor in yeast, is a critical determinant of the replication timing programme in human cells. Depletion of Rif1 results in specific loss of mid‐S replication foci profiles, stimulation of initiation events in early‐S‐phase and changes in long‐range replication timing domain structures. Analyses of replication timing show replication of sequences normally replicating early is delayed, whereas that normally replicating late is advanced, suggesting that replication timing regulation is abrogated in the absence of Rif1. Rif1 tightly binds to nuclear‐insoluble structures at late‐M‐to‐early‐G1 and regulates chromatin‐loop sizes. Furthermore, Rif1 colocalizes specifically with the mid‐S replication foci. Thus, Rif1 establishes the mid‐S replication domains that are restrained from being activated at early‐S‐phase. Our results indicate that Rif1 plays crucial roles in determining the replication timing domain structures in human cells through regulating higher‐order chromatin architecture.
The homologue of the yeast telomeric protein Rif1 regulates the complex temporal programme of human genome replication, possibly controlling chromatin domain establishment at the G1 ‘timing decision point’
One of the long-standing questions in eukaryotic DNA replication is the mechanisms that determine where and when a particular segment of the genome is replicated. Cdc7/Hsk1 is a conserved kinase ...required for initiation of DNA replication and may affect the site selection and timing of origin firing. We identified rif1Δ, a null mutant of rif1(+), a conserved telomere-binding factor, as an efficient bypass mutant of fission yeast hsk1. Extensive deregulation of dormant origins over a wide range of the chromosomes occurs in rif1Δ in the presence or absence of hydroxyurea (HU). At the same time, many early-firing, efficient origins are suppressed or delayed in firing timing in rif1Δ. Rif1 binds not only to telomeres, but also to many specific locations on the arm segments that only partially overlap with the prereplicative complex assembly sites, although Rif1 tends to bind in the vicinity of the late/dormant origins activated in rif1Δ. The binding to the arm segments occurs through M to G1 phase in a manner independent of Taz1 and appears to be essential for the replication timing program during the normal cell cycle. Our data demonstrate that Rif1 is a critical determinant of the origin activation program on the fission yeast chromosomes.
Rif1 is a key factor for spatiotemporal regulation of DNA replication. Rif1 suppresses origin firing in the mid-late replication domains by generating replication-suppressive chromatin architecture ...and by recruiting a protein phosphatase. In fission yeast, the function of Hsk1, a kinase important for origin firing, can be bypassed by rif1Δ due to the loss of origin suppression. Rif1 specifically binds to G-quadruplex (G4) in vitro. Here, we show both conserved N-terminal HEAT repeats and C-terminal nonconserved segments are required for origin suppression. The N-terminal 444 amino acids and the C-terminal 229 amino acids can each mediate specific G4 binding, although high-affinity G4 binding requires the presence of both N- and C-terminal segments. The C-terminal 91 amino acids, although not able to bind to G4, can form a multimer. Furthermore, genetic screening led to identification of two classes of rif1 point mutations that can bypass Hsk1, one that fails to bind to chromatin and one that binds to chromatin. These results illustrate functional domains of Rif1 and indicate importance of both the N-terminal HEAT repeat segment and C-terminal G4 binding/oligomerization domain as well as other functionally unassigned segments of Rif1 in regulation of origin firing.
Rif1 is a conserved protein regulating replication timing and binds preferentially to the vicinity of late-firing/dormant origins in fission yeast. The Rif1 binding sites on the fission yeast genome ...have an intrinsic potential to generate G-quadruplex (G4) structures to which purified Rif1 preferentially binds. We previously proposed that Rif1 generates chromatin architecture that may determine replication timing by facilitating the chromatin loop formation. Here, we conducted detailed biochemical analyses on Rif1 and its G4 binding. Rif1 prefers sequences containing long stretches of guanines and binds preferentially to the multimeric G4 of parallel or hybrid/mix topology. Rif1 forms oligomers and binds simultaneously to multiple G4. We present a model on how Rif1 may facilitate the formation of chromatin architecture through its G4 binding and oligomerization properties.
•Only a subset of the origins (pre-RC assembly sites) is actually “fired” to initiate DNA synthesis during S phase.•The origin positions as well as the selection of those to be fired may be ...determined by multiple factors including sequences, chromatin context, epigenetic information, and specific genomic features.•The choice can be surprisingly plastic and opportunistic.•Timing regulation of firing is related to cell-type-specific intrinsic chromatin architecture in nuclei.•Replication timing is regulated also by many factors including Rif1 protein.
Replication origins are where pre-replication complexes are assembled during G1 phase. However, only a subset of the origins is actually “fired” to initiate DNA synthesis during S phase. Whereas factors involved in these steps are relatively well understood now, the mechanisms behind the origin specification, the choice of origins to be fired and determination of their timing are still under active investigation. Recent data show that the origin positions as well as the selection of those to be fired may be determined by multiple factors including sequences, chromatin context, epigenetic information, and some specific genomic features, but that the choice is surprisingly plastic and opportunistic. Timing regulation of firing, on the other hand, appears to be related to cell type-specific intrinsic chromatin architecture in nuclei. The conserved Rif1 protein appears to be a major global regulator of the genome-wide replication timing. Replication timing is regulated also by other factors including checkpoint signals, local chromatin structures, timing and quantity of pre-RC formation, and availability of limiting initiation factors.
Chromosome replication initiates at multiple replicons and terminates when forks converge. In E. coli, the Tus-TER complex mediates polar fork converging at the terminator region, and aberrant ...termination events challenge chromosome integrity and segregation. Since in eukaryotes, termination is less characterized, we used budding yeast to identify the factors assisting fork fusion at replicating chromosomes. Using genomic and mechanistic studies, we have identified and characterized 71 chromosomal termination regions (TERs). TERs contain fork pausing elements that influence fork progression and merging. The Rrm3 DNA helicase assists fork progression across TERs, counteracting the accumulation of X-shaped structures. The Top2 DNA topoisomerase associates at TERs in S phase, and G2/M facilitates fork fusion and prevents DNA breaks and genome rearrangements at TERs. We propose that in eukaryotes, replication fork barriers, Rrm3, and Top2 coordinate replication fork progression and fusion at TERs, thus counteracting abnormal genomic transitions.
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► Replication termination occurs at fork pausing sites ► Rrm3 assists fork progression across termination regions ► Top2, but not Top3, facilitates fork fusion ► Top2 prevents genome instability at termination regions
Recent studies have indicated new roles for telomere-binding factors in the regulation of DNA replication, not only at the telomeres but also at the arm regions of the chromosome. Among these ...factors, Rif1, a conserved protein originally identified in yeasts as a telomere regulator, plays a major role in the spatiotemporal regulation of DNA replication during S phase. Its ability to interact with phosphatases and to create specific higher-order chromatin structures is central to the mechanism by which Rif1 exerts this function. In this review, we discuss recent progress in elucidating the roles of Rif1 and other telomere-binding factors in the regulation of chromosome events occurring at locations other than telomeres.
Cdc7/Hsk1 is a conserved kinase required for initiation of DNA replication that potentially regulates timing and locations of replication origin firing. Here, we show that viability of fission yeast ...hsk1Δ cells can be restored by loss of mrc1, which is required for maintenance of replication fork integrity, by cds1Δ, or by a checkpoint-deficient mutant of mrc1. In these mutants, normally inactive origins are activated in the presence of hydroxyurea and binding of Cdc45 to MCM is stimulated. mrc1Δ bypasses hsk1Δ more efficiently because of its checkpoint-independent inhibitory functions. Unexpectedly, hsk1Δ is viable at 37°C. More DNA is synthesized, and some dormant origins fire in the presence of hydroxyurea at 37°C. Furthermore, hsk1Δ bypass strains grow poorly at 25°C compared with higher temperatures. Our results show that Hsk1 functions for DNA replication can be bypassed by different genetic backgrounds as well as under varied physiological conditions, providing additional evidence for plasticity of the replication program in eukaryotes.
The Shelterin component Rif1 has emerged as a global regulator of the replication-timing program in all eukaryotes examined to date, possibly by modulating the 3D-organization of the genome. In ...fission yeast a second Shelterin component, Taz1, might share similar functions. Here, we identified unexpected properties for Rif1 and Taz1 by conducting high-throughput genetic screens designed to identify cis- and trans-acting factors capable of creating heterochromatin–euchromatin boundaries in fission yeast. The preponderance of cis-acting elements identified in the screens originated from genomic loci bound by Taz1 and associated with origins of replication whose firing is repressed by Taz1 and Rif1. Boundary formation and gene silencing by these elements required Taz1 and Rif1 and coincided with altered replication timing in the region. Thus, small chromosomal elements sensitive to Taz1 and Rif1 (STAR) could simultaneously regulate gene expression and DNA replication over a large domain, at the edge of which they established a heterochromatin–euchromatin boundary. Taz1, Rif1, and Rif1-associated protein phosphatases Sds21 and Dis2 were each sufficient to establish a boundary when tethered to DNA. Moreover, efficient boundary formation required the amino-terminal domain of the Mcm4 replicative helicase onto which the antagonistic activities of the replication-promoting Dbf4-dependent kinase and Rif1-recruited phosphatases are believed to converge to control replication origin firing. Altogether these observations provide an insight into a coordinated control of DNA replication and organization of the genome into expression domains.
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