Download or read book Mutational Analysis of the Origin Binding Domain of Simian Virus 40 Large T antigen Provides Insights Into Its Function in DNA Unwinding written by Erin C. Foster and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: DNA replication is an essential process of cell division required in order to maintain genomic integrity of all dividing cells. Although advancements have been made toward further understanding of this process, much is still unknown about the mechanisms underlying DNA replication, especially in mammalian systems. Eukaryotic DNA replication is a tightly regulated and complex process involving a myriad of proteins and numerous origins. Due to this complexity Simian Virus 40 (SV40) is used as a model system to simplify the investigation of the function of individual protein components. The replication of SV40 DNA employs one multifunctional viral protein, large T-antigen (T-ag). Many structural and genetic studies have provided a wealth of information about T-ag; however much remains unknown about the specific interactions between T-ag, DNA and replication factors and the precise sequence of events during replication. SV40 large T-ag is a multidomain protein that functions in origin recognition and unwinding events during initiation of SV40 DNA replication. The Origin Binding Domain (OBD) of T-ag plays a critical role during initiation to position T-ag on the origin through the use of a DNA binding motif consisting of A1 and B2 loops. After origin recognition, T-ag forms a double hexamer over the origin. Within each hexamer, the OBD adopts a lock washer structure where the origin recognizing A1 and B2 loops face towards the helicase domain and likely become unavailable for DNA binding. New surfaces of the OBD monomers are positioned along the DNA axis during hexamer formation. The role of the central channel of the OBD hexamer in DNA replication was investigated by analyzing the effects of mutations of residues lining the channel. All mutants showed binding defects with origin DNA and ssDNA especially at low protein concentrations, but only half were defective at supporting DNA replication in vitro. All mutants were normal in unwinding linear origin DNA fragments. However, replication defective mutants failed to unwind a small origin containing circular DNA whereas replication competent mutants did so normally. The presence of RPA and/or pol/prim restored circular DNA unwinding activity of compromised mutants probably by interacting with the separated DNA strands on the T-ag surface. The addition of RPA also recovered the ability of replication deficient mutants to support initiation and complete DNA replication in vitro. The addition of pol/prim resulted in the greatest recovery of mutant activity in minicircle unwinding and initiation. Compared to other polymerases tested, pol/prim was the only polymerase able to rescue mutant activity to WT levels indicated that this stimulation is specific to pol/prim. Of the four subunits of the pol/prim complex that could be responsible for stimulating mutant activity, the p180 subunit appeared to be active in recovering circular DNA unwinding. These results indicated a role for the OBD central channel in binding and threading ssDNA during unwinding of circular SV40 DNA. Mixing mutant and WT T-ag in minicircle unwinding assays suggested that only one monomer in an OBD hexamer was necessary for DNA unwinding. Results allowed for the development of a model of DNA threading through the T-ag complex illustrating how single stranded DNA could pass close to a trough generated by key residues in one monomer of the OBD hexamer.