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Journal of Virology, April 2007, p. 3293-3302, Vol. 81, No. 7
0022-538X/07/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JVI.02432-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York 11724
Received 5 November 2006/ Accepted 21 December 2006
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The
E1 proteins from papillomaviruses are
70-kDa
polypeptides which, in addition to DNA melting
activity, have DNA helicase activity
(19,
20,
30,
33,
35,
37,
38,
40) and also bind DNA.
DNA binding by E1 is the result of two different DNA binding
activities. Site-specific DNA binding is provided by the E1 DNA binding
domain (DBD), which recognizes and binds to two pairs of E1 binding
sites (E1 BS) in the origin of replication
(7-9,
11,
15,
17,
31,
36). The E1 helicase
domain binds DNA with low sequence specificity, and this activity is
required for the ability of the E1 helicase domain to contact the DNA
sequences flanking the E1 BS, including a region that has been termed
the A/T-rich region
(34).
Recent advances in the study of E1 and T-Ag have opened up the melting process for more detailed study. Structural studies of E1 and T-Ag have provided important information about the domain structure, how these proteins oligomerize, and how they bind and hydrolyze nucleotides (1, 10, 13, 18). Biochemical analysis has demonstrated that one particular form of E1, a double trimer (DT), generates permanganate reactivity in the ori in the presence of ADP, indicating that the DT provides template melting activity (28). The DT is a required precursor for formation of the double hexameric (DH) helicase, and we have therefore suggested that template melting is required for the assembly of a DH helicase that engages the DNA (28). In addition, a structural element in E1, a ß-hairpin (specifically a highly conserved His at the tip of the ß-hairpin), has also been implicated in template melting, possibly by a direct interaction between the ß-hairpin histidine and the ori DNA (28).
Here we have dissected E1-dependent template melting to identify its components and to define the role that is played by the template. We demonstrate that template melting is sequence dependent and that E1 relies on a series of TA base pairs on the flank of the E1 BS for melting to occur. These TA base pairs are recognized in the minor groove. Mutations of the template that affect melting simultaneously affect DH formation, unwinding, and DNA replication, demonstrating that correct melting is a prerequisite for formation of a functional DH. Our results also indicate that melting of the DNA is achieved by destabilization of the double helix along its length through multiple interactions with E1, each of which is responsible for melting of a few base pairs.
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10 fmol of end-labeled probe were assembled and
incubated with E1 at room temperature. After 30 min, KMnO4
was added to a final concentration of 6 mM, and reactions were
incubated for a further 2 min. Modification was terminated by adding
ß-mercaptoethanol to 80 mM, sodium dodecyl sulfate to 0.3%, and
EDTA to 10 mM. Reaction products were then digested with proteinase K
(20 µg/ml) for 60 min at 37°C, and the DNA was
recovered by phenol-chloroform extraction and ethanol precipitation.
Cleavage at modified bases was achieved with piperidine (30 min at
90°C). EMSA. Acrylamide gels (4% [39:1 acrylamide:bis]) containing 0.5x Tris-borate-EDTA were used for all electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs). E1 was added to the probe (5,000 cpm) in a solution containing 20 mM HEPES, pH 7.5, 100 mM NaCl, 0.7 mg/ml bovine serum albumin, 0.1% NP-40, 5% glycerol, 5 mM DTT, 5 mM MgCl2, and 2 mM ATP or ADP. After incubation at room temperature for 60 min, the samples were loaded and run for 2 h at 9 V/cm. The ability to generate discrete complexes, especially the DT and DH, was critically dependent on the quality of the acrylamide, a freshly made ammonium persulfate solution, allowing overnight polymerization of the gels, and a precise prerunning time (9 V/cm for 4 h).
Combined EMSA and unwinding assays. Unwinding assays were performed by incubating 2 fmol of probe with E1 under EMSA conditions (28). The 10-µl reaction system contained 20 mM HEPES (pH 7.9), 75 mM NaCl, 0.1% NP-40, 5% glycerol, 5 mM DTT, 5 mM MgCl2, 5 mM ATP, and 10 ng/µl E. coli ssDNA binding protein (SSB), and the reaction mixes were incubated for 30 min at 32°C. Prior to gel loading, the concentration of NaCl was increased to 500 mM, which disrupts most E1-DNA complexes but does not affect ssDNA-SSB complexes. The ssDNA was detected as an SSB-ssDNA complex under these EMSA conditions.
In vivo DNA replication assays. In vivo DNA replication assays were performed as described previously (39). Briefly, expression vectors for the E1 and E2 proteins, i.e., pCGE1 (2 µg) and pCGE2 (0.5 µg), were cotransfected together with 0.5 µg of the respective ori plasmids into CHO cells, using electroporation. The mutant ori plasmids were all constructed in the context of the plasmid 11/12/X (26), which contains 110 bp of the bovine papillomavirus (BPV)ori sequence cloned into the polylinker of pUC 19. Two and 3 days after transfection, low-molecular-weight DNA was harvested using alkaline lysis, digested with DpnI, linearized with HindIII, and analyzed by Southern blotting. Quantitation of the mitochondrial DNA in the samples was used to ascertain equal loading.
Probes.
All probes used for permanganate
reactivity assays and for EMSAs were generated by PCR amplification,
using one primer end labeled with [
-32P]ATP and T4
polynucleotide kinase. Our standard probe for permanganate reactivity
assays and EMSAs contains 84 bp of the BPV ori sequence centered on the
E1 BS. In one experiment (see Fig.
4), we used a shorter
probe (56 bp) lacking 28 bp from the right end of the 84-bp probe. The
purpose of this shorter probe was to reduce the length of the
oligonucleotides required to insert inosine substitutions in the bottom
strand of the probe from 84 bp to 56 bp. In another experiment (see
Fig. 2A), a longer probe,
which includes pUC 19 polylinker sequences at both ends, was used to
resolve the melting of the T14, AT8, and TA8 probes. GA ladders
generated by treatment of the probes according to the Maxam and Gilbert
sequencing protocol (21)
were used as markers.
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FIG. 4. (A)
Comparison of permanganate reactivities of the A16 and T16/17 probes.
Permanganate reactivity assays were performed on the A16 and T16/17
templates in parallel. E1 was incubated with the probe in the absence
of nucleotide (lanes 1 and 8), in the presence of ADP (lanes 2 to 4 and
9 to 11) or in the presence of ATP (lanes 5
to 7
and 12 to 14). In the absence of nucleotide, 800 fmol of E1 was used,
and in the presence of ADP or ATP, 200, 400, and 800 fmol of E1 was
used. (B) Summary of the permanganate reactivities generated by E1 on
the A16 and T16/17 templates in the presence of ADP and ATP. For
comparison, the permanganate reactivity on the wt template (from Fig.
1) is shown. (C) The
template T6(A16) was generated by insertion of six T residues into the
A16 context at positions 12 to 17. Permanganate reactivity assays were
performed in the presence of ATP on the bottom-strand labeled probe in
the absence (lane 1) or presence (lane 2) of 800 fmol E1. (D)
Permanganate reactivity of the T16/17 template. Permanganate reactivity
assays were performed using the top-strand labeled T16/17 template. E1
(400 and 800 fmol, respectively) was incubated with the probe in the
presence of ADP (lanes 2 and 3) or ATP (lanes 4 and 5) and treated with
permanganate as described in the legend to Fig.
1. For lane 1, no E1 was
added. Below the gel is a summary of the observed permanganate
reactivity. (E) Schematic representation of distal and proximal
T-dependent melting showing that TA bp (bold) direct melting 5 or 6 bp
away from the inserted TA
bp.
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FIG. 2. Permanganate
reactivities of ori probes with altered sequences. (A)
Permanganate reactivity assays in the presence of ATP were performed
with the top and bottom strands of probes AT8 (lanes 1, 2, 9, and 10)
and TA8 (lanes 3, 4, 7, and 8) and the bottom strand of T14 (lanes 5
and 6). The probes were incubated in the absence of E1 (lanes 1, 3, 5,
7, and 9) or in the presence of 800 fmol of E1 (lanes 2, 4, 6, 8, and
10) in the presence of ATP and treated with permanganate as described
in the legend to Fig. 1.
(B) Permanganate reactivity assays in the presence of ATP
were performed with the top (lanes 1 to 8) and bottom (lanes
9 to 12) strands of the A16 (lanes 1 to 4, 11, and 12) and
wt (lanes 5 to 10) templates. For lanes 2 to 4 and 6 to 8,
200, 400, and 800 fmol of E1 was used, respectively. For lanes 10 and
12, 800 fmol of E1 was
used. (C) E1 complex formation on the wt and A16 probes. EMSA was
performed on the wt (lanes 1 to 9) and A16 (lanes 10 to 18) probes.
Three quantities of E1 (30, 60, and 120 fmol) were used in the presence
of ADP (lanes 2 to 5 and 11 to 14) or ATP (lanes 6 to 9 and 15 to 18).
For lanes 1 and 10, no E1 was
added.
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FIG. 1. (A)
Permanganate reactivity of the wt ori probe in the absence of
nucleotide or in the presence of ADP or ATP. Permanganate reactivity
assays were performed by incubating the bottom-strand (lanes 1 to 8)
and top-strand (lanes 9 to 16) labeled probes with E1 in the absence of
nucleotide (lanes 2 and 10) or in the presence of ADP (lanes 3 to 5 and
11 to 13) or ATP (lanes 6 to 9 and 14 to 16). In the absence of
nucleotide, 800 fmol of E1 was used, and in the presence of nucleotide
200, 400, and 800 fmol of E1 was used. After 30 min at room
temperature, the samples were treated with 6 mM KMnO4 for 2
min. For lanes 1 and 9, the top- and bottom-strand probes were treated
with KMnO4 in the absence of E1. (B) Summary of
the permanganate reactivity of the wt ori probe. Black bars indicate
the positions and relative levels of permanganate
reactivity.
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15 bp) occurs on
the wt probe. Interestingly, the probe with homopolymeric T residues on the bottom strand (A16) gave rise to a very different pattern (Fig. 2B). We performed a side-by-side comparison of the melting patterns of the A16 template and the wt ori. We observed no melting with the A16 template on the top strand, as expected, since the A residues are not reactive with permanganate (lanes 2 to 4). Surprisingly, we also observed very little permanganate reactivity on the bottom strand, although this strand contains many T residues that could react with permanganate (lanes 11 and 12). Melting was observed only at positions 3 to 7 in the left half of the ori (Fig. 2B, lower panel). This result demonstrates that T residues on the top strand (or A residues on the bottom strand) are specifically required to generate the wt melting pattern.
What first occurred to us was that the defect in melting was caused by a defect in E1 binding. We therefore tested the probes by EMSA (Fig. 2C). As described previously, in the presence of ADP, E1 forms a DT on the wt probe (lanes 2 to 5). In the presence of ATP, an additional, larger complex is formed, corresponding to a DH (lanes 6 to 9). The E1 complex formed on the A16 probe in the presence of ADP was virtually identical to that formed on the wt probe (Fig. 2C, compare lanes 2 to 5 and 11 to 14). In the presence of ATP, however, we observed a less intense band at the position of the DH and higher levels of intermediate complexes on the A16 probe (compare lanes 6 to 9 and 15 to 18). This demonstrates that while the A16 probe formed the DT at the same level as the wt probe, the A16 probe showed a modest defect in DH formation.
Melting depends on TA base pairs flanking the E1 BS. To determine how the TA bp affected melting, we inserted pairs of T residues at different positions in the A16 stretch on the top strand, generating the templates T10/11, T12/13, T14/15, T16/17, and T20/21 (Fig. 3C). We tested these templates for melting in the absence and presence of ATP (Fig. 3A). In the absence of ATP, these insertions had small effects on permanganate reactivity (compare lane 1 to lanes 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11), mostly generating permanganate reactivity adjacent to the inserted T residues, demonstrating that even in the absence of nucleotide some permanganate reactivity can be observed. In the presence of ATP, however, we observed systematic, qualitative effects of the T insertions on melting. The insertion of pairs of T residues resulted in altered permanganate reactivity, and the changes that we observed were related to the position of the T insertion such that melting in each case was observed 5 or 6 bp to the right of the inserted T residues, towards the E1 BS. Because some of these changes overlapped with the melting at positions 3 to 7 observed with the A16 template, we scanned each lane from the gel and aligned the scans (Fig. 3B). Here the changes in melting due to the inserted T pairs can be observed clearly. Insertion of T's at positions 16 and 17 resulted in the appearance of a new peak at positions 10 and 11 (Fig. 3A, lanes 9 and 10, and B), insertion of T's at positions 14 and 15 resulted in the appearance of a new peak at positions 7 and 8 (Fig. 3A, lanes 7 and 8, and B), etc.
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FIG. 3. Permanganate
reactivities of probes with TT insertions. (A) The A16 ori
probe was modified by insertion of pairs of T's at different positions
in the A16 sequence, as shown in panel C. These probes were tested for
permanganate reactivity in the presence of 800 fmol of E1 as described
in the legend to Fig. 1.
For lanes 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11, no ATP was added. For lanes 2, 4, 6,
8, 10, and 12, 5 mM ATP was added. (B) The bracketed part of
the gel in panel A was scanned, and the scans for lanes 2, 4, 6, 8, 10,
and 12 were aligned. (C) Summary of the permanganate
reactivities generated with the TT-substituted A16 probes. The
positions of the substitutions are boxed and shaded. Black bars
indicate the positions and levels of permanganate reactivity observed
on the A16 probe. The gray bars correspond to the pattern obtained
after subtraction of the A16 pattern from each lane. (D)
Bottom-strand labeled probes for the A16 template and the TT insertions
T12/13, T14/15, T16/17, and T20/21 in the A16 context were tested for
permanganate reactivity in the absence (lanes 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9) or
presence (lanes 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10) of 800 fmol of E1 in the presence
of ADP. (E) Summary of the permanganate reactivities
generated by E1 on TT-substituted templates in the presence of ADP. For
comparison, the permanganate reactivity on the wt template (from Fig.
1) is also
shown.
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-S, which failed to support the T-induced melting and
essentially behaved like ADP in these assays (data not shown). From
previous experiments, we know that ATP-
-S is bound and
hydrolyzed extremely slowly by E1
(28). To extend these observations, we performed a side-by-side comparison of the A16 and T16/17 templates in the absence of nucleotide, in the presence of ADP, and in the presence of ATP (Fig. 4A and B). In the absence of nucleotide, the two templates showed identical patterns, with low-level reactivity at positions 11 and 12 (Fig. 4A, lanes 1 and 8). In the presence of ADP at three concentrations of E1, the melting patterns for the A16 and T16/17 templates were still identical (lanes 2 to 4 and 9 to 11, respectively), corresponding to permanganate reactivity at positions 9 to 14. In the presence of ATP, the patterns for both templates changed dramatically (compare lanes 5 to 7 and 12 to 14). We now observed melting at positions 3 to 7 for both templates, as well as permanganate reactivity between positions 9 and 14 for the T16/17 template. We also observed robust permanganate reactivity in the sequences corresponding to the E1 BS (lanes 6, 7, 13, and 14). In summary, these results demonstrate that although TA bp play no apparent role in the ADP-dependent melting associated with the DT, they are essential for generating the melting pattern observed in the presence of ATP.
The wt template contains six TA bp within the 9-bp window where insertion of TA bp has an effect on permanganate reactivity. Collectively, the six TA bp could account for the extensive melting observed with the wt and T14 templates, since these TA bp are melted and also direct melting 5 or 6 bp away. To determine whether the six TA bp had the expected cumulative effect in the A16 context, we generated the template T6 (A16), which contains the six TA bp in the context of the A16 template (Fig. 4C). As predicted, when we performed permanganate reactivity assays on this template in the presence of ATP, we observed strong melting over all positions between positions 3 and 11, demonstrating that the inserted T6 stretch induces melting in a cumulative manner in the sequences between the point where the T6 is inserted and the E1 BS. To determine whether the inserted pairs of TA bp on the top strand were also melted, we performed permanganate reactivity assays on the top strand of the T16/17 template (Fig. 4D). As expected from the results with the wt template, the two inserted T residues reacted with permanganate. In summary, these results demonstrate that the six TA bp are largely responsible for the generation of the melting of positions 3 to 18 observed on the wt and T14 templates (Fig. 4E). We have termed these components of melting distal and proximal T-dependent melting.
TA bp are recognized in the minor groove. To determine which aspect of the TA bp was important for melting, we generated various substitutions at positions 16 and 17 in the A16 template and used the resultant mutants for permanganate reactivity assays (Fig. 5). As observed previously, TA bp inserted at positions 16 and 17 clearly induced melting at positions 9 to 11 (lanes 3 and 4), in addition to the melting between positions 3 and 7 observed with the A16 template (lanes 1 and 2). GC and CG bp clearly did not direct melting at positions 9 to 11 (lanes 5 to 8), while UA bp functioned as well as TA bp (lanes 9 and 10). This demonstrates that the methyl group present in the major groove in the TA bp is not important for the generation of additional permanganate reactivity and indicates that an interaction might take place in the minor groove. To determine whether this was the case, we generated CI substitutions at both the 14-15 and the 16-17 positions. A CI bp is identical to a TA bp in the minor groove and identical to a CG bp in the major groove (Fig. 5B). As shown in Fig. 5A, lanes 11 to 14, CI substitutions at positions 14-15 or 16-17 behaved similarly to the corresponding TA bp, demonstrating that the dependence on TA bp for melting reflects minor groove recognition.
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FIG. 5. Melting
requires minor groove recognition of TA bp. Permanganate reactivity
assays were performed on E1 templates with substitutions at the 14-15
and 16-17 positions, as indicated in the figure. For lanes 1, 3, 5, 7,
9, 11, and 13, no E1 was added. For lanes 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14,
800 fmol of E1 was added in the presence of ATP. The bracket indicates
the position of T-induced melting. (B) Schematic
representation of the minor and major grooves of AT, IC, and GC
bp.
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FIG. 6. In
vivo DNA replication and unwinding are dependent on six TA bp.
(A) Mutant ori's, as shown in panel B, were generated and
tested for transient DNA replication in vivo by cotransfection of the
respective mutant ori plasmids with expression vectors for E1 and E2.
Two and three days after transfection, low-molecular-weight DNAs were
prepared, and replicated DpnI-resistant plasmid DNA was detected by
Southern blotting. (B) Sequences of the two sets of ori
mutants that were tested in panel A. The top set is based on the wt ori
sequence, and the bottom set is based on the A16 ori sequence. The
substitutions compared to the parent template are indicated in shaded
boxes. The level of in vivo DNA replication, relative to that with the
wt ori, is indicated for each
mutant.
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40% of
the wt activity) (lanes 5 and 6). Replacement of the first nine AT bp
with TA bp (T9) restored replication to 70% of the wt activity (lanes 9
and 10). T16/17, corresponding to the insertion of T's at positions 16
and 17, did not restore activity to the ori in a detectable way (lanes
7 and 8). These results demonstrate that the six T residues that are
present in the wt ori are essential for ori function and that the rest
of the ori sequence in this region is of minor importance for
replication. These results also indicate that the T6 stretch functions
as a unit and that restoration of only parts of this unit does not
result in partial activity. The DH formed on the A16 template has reduced stability. The results described above demonstrate that the T6 stretch serves an essential function in DNA replication and that the failure to melt the ori DNA correctly likely results in the severe defect in DNA replication. As shown in Fig. 2, the A16 template showed no defects in DT formation, and melting in the presence of ADP also appeared normal. This was an expected result, since the six TA bp have no detectable effect on either DT formation or melting in the presence of ADP. However, the A16 template did show defects in DH formation (Fig. 2C). To determine whether the complexes formed on the A16 template differed in stability from the complexes formed on the wt probe, we performed an EMSA in which we challenged the complexes formed on the wt and A16 probes with detergent. In the absence of detergent, DT formation was similar on the two probes (Fig. 7A, compare lanes 2 to 4 and 9 to 11), while the DH complex formed poorly on the A16 template compared to the wt probe (Fig. 7A, compare lanes 5 to 7 and 12 to 14). In a parallel set of reactions, we added low levels of detergent (0.2% sodium deoxycholate) after the binding reaction but before loading of the sample into the gel. Under these conditions, the DT on both the wt and A16 probes were largely disrupted, indicating that the complexes on the wt and A16 templates have similar low stabilities (Fig. 7A, compare lanes 2 to 4 to lanes 16 to 18 and lanes 9 to 11 to lanes 23 to 25). Interestingly, the DH complex formed on the wt template remained largely intact (compare lanes 5 to 7 and 19 to 21), while the DH complex formed on the A16 template was largely disrupted (compare lanes 12 to 14 and 26 to 28). This demonstrates that the DH complex formed on the A16 template has reduced stability, likely caused by the melting defect.
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FIG. 7. The
DH formed on the A16 probe is unstable. EMSA was performed using the wt
(lanes 1 to 9) or A16 (lanes 10 to 18) 84-bp ori probe. Three
quantities of E1 (30, 60, and 120 fmol) were used in the presence of
ADP (lanes 2 to 4, 9 to 11, 16 to 18, and 23 to 25) or ATP (lanes 5 to
7, 12 to 14, 19 to 21, and 26 to 28). For the left half of the figure,
lanes 1 to 14, the samples were loaded directly into the gel. For the
right half of the figure, lanes 15 to 28, 0.2% deoxycholate was added
to the samples prior to their being loaded into the gel. (B)
ori fragment unwinding assays. ori fragment unwinding assays were
performed by incubating the wt, A16*, and A16 probes with E.
coli SSB in the absence of E1 (lanes 1, 7, and 13) or in the
presence of 30, 60, 120, 240, or 480 fmol of E1 (lanes 2 to 6, 8 to 12,
and 14 to 18). Unwinding (ssDNA) was detected as a specific ssDNA-SSB
complex by
EMSA.
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18 bp adjacent
to the E1 BS are melted in the presence of ATP. As discussed below, the
fact that we can distinguish several different components of melting
indicates that several different mechanisms are required in combination
for complete melting and that melting likely corresponds to a process
rather than a single event. This idea is supported by the fact that the
permanganate reactivity, which is first detected upon formation of the
E1 DT, changes concurrently with the conversion of the DT to a DH. As
discussed below, melting is a prerequisite for DH formation, supporting
the idea that the substrate for DH formation is a protein-DNA complex
in which the DNA is melted. The ori is not symmetrical, and the six TA
bp that are present in the left half of the ori are not present in the
correct position in the other half. Clearly, the sequences in the two
halves of the ori are not melted in the same way. Indeed, it is
surprising how different the melting patterns are for the two halves of
the ori. Most likely, the events that we have determined are essential
for initiation of DNA replication on the left flank of the E1 BS need
to occur in only one-half of the ori for
function. Comparison to earlier studies. Pioneering work on template melting using permanganate reactivity assays was carried out with the SV40 system more than 15 years ago (4, 5). As expected, there are similarities between the permanganate reactivities induced by E1 and T-Ag, although precise comparisons are hampered by the limited sequence similarity of the two ori's. In both cases, permanganate reactivity is observed at similar distances flanking the BS for the respective initiator, and a TA-rich region with the same polarity as that in the BPV ori is also present in the SV40 ori, at roughly the same position. Furthermore, based on limited mutational analysis, a similar dependence on the TA bp both for permanganate reactivity and for DNA replication was observed (3). There are, however, also significant differences. One conclusion of the early SV40 studies was that untwisting of the DNA, rather than melting, caused the permanganate reactivity in the TA-rich region (5). For the BPV ori, both the clear sequence dependence and the fixed relationship between the distal and proximal T-dependent melting make such a mechanism for the generation of permanganate reactivity unlikely. Nevertheless, the clear similarities indicate that template melting by E1 and T-Ag likely occurs in a similar manner.
Template melting is a process with multiple components. Through mutational analysis of the ori, we found that certain sequences are incompatible with melting and that E1 shows distinctive sequence dependence for template melting. Within a 9-bp window between positions 9 and 17, multiple TA bp are required for in vivo DNA replication (Fig. 6). In this same window, multiple TA bp are required to generate the wt melting pattern. However, all of the base pairs within this window need not be TA bp, as indicated by the TA8 and AT8 templates, both of which have substantial activity in permanganate reactivity assays (Fig. 2) and for DNA replication (data not shown).
We used the E1-dependent permanganate reactivity assay with different mutant templates in the presence of both ADP and ATP to distinguish multiple components of melting. The first permanganate reactivity is generated upon binding of E1 as a DT in the presence of ADP. This reactivity, although it is superficially similar to that observed in the presence of ATP, is clearly quite different, since melting in the presence of ADP is not affected by the presence of TA bp (Fig. 3 and 4). In the presence of ATP, we observed four additional discrete components of melting (Fig. 8A). The six TA bp are melted (distal T-dependent melting), and in addition, they direct melting half a helical turn away from the six TA bp (proximal T-dependent melting). Both of these melting types appear only in the presence of ATP and are therefore likely dependent on ATP hydrolysis. In addition, by using the A16 probe, we observed two additional ATP-dependent components. These were proximal T-independent melting and melting of the E1 BS (Fig. 8A).
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FIG. 8. Models
for template melting. (A) Four different components of
ATP-dependent template melting. Distal and proximal T-dependent melting
accounts for the majority of permanganate reactivity. In addition,
permanganate reactivity of the E1 BS and of proximal T-independent
melting can be observed under specific conditions (see Fig.
4A). (B) Six TA
bp in the wt ori direct melting. Within a 9-bp window, the presence
of TA bp results in melting of the TA bp (distal T-dependent
melting). The TA bp within this window also induce melting half a
helical turn away (proximal T-dependent melting). (C) Model
for how multiple E1 DNA interactions generate large-scale melting. The
E1 molecules in the DT bind in a helical arrangement, wrapping around
the DNA duplex. Each E1 molecule contacts DNA at two positions,
separated by a one-half turn of the helix. These contacts correspond to
distal and proximal T-dependent melting. Together, these six contacts
account for the 15 to 18 bp of permanganate reactivity
observed in the left half of the ori. For clarity, only two of the
three staggered E1 molecules are
shown.
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The ATP-dependent melting of the E1 BS is interesting since this is the first demonstration that in the process of DH formation, the binding sites for the initiator are melted. The fact that the A16 template shows prominent E1 BS melting although this template is defective for DH formation indicates that E1 BS melting precedes DH formation and likely is required for DH formation (Fig. 4A). Although we have little specific information about how E1 BS melting comes about, we recently identified a mutant on the surface of the E1 DBD, K269A, which is competent to form the DT but fails to form the DH and, consequently, is defective for ori unwinding (29). The effect of this mutation demonstrates that melting of the ori and DH formation require specific contributions from the E1 DBD other than the initial binding of E1 to the ori.
Correct template melting is required for DH formation. The melting defect of the A16 template causes severe defects in DH formation, unwinding, and DNA replication in vivo, providing good evidence that the wt melting pattern is required for these subsequent processes. This is consistent with our previous proposal that template melting is a prerequisite for formation of the active DH helicase (28). Because the DT forms on the A16 template without obvious defects (Fig. 2C) and generates essentially the same melting pattern as the wt template, the defect in complex formation appears to be confined to formation of the DH (Fig. 4B). The requirement for template melting indicates that formation of the DH helicase, similar to a single E1 hexamer, depends on ssDNA for its formation (12, 30). Recent structural data demonstrate that the hexamer of the E1 helicase domain encircles ssDNA, and this is likely also the case for the DH (10).
The requirement for multiple TA bp is related to binding of multiple E1 molecules. Proximal and distal T-dependent melting, which in combination accounts for most of the melting that we observe on the wt template, is particularly interesting. Distal T-dependent melting is sequence and groove specific, demonstrating that it represents a direct interaction between E1 and the TA stretch. The observations that multiple TA bp are required within a particular window and that these function as a unit in the in vivo replication experiments indicate that the TA stretch is the target for multiple interactions with E1. We previously proposed that the E1 molecules in the DT are positioned in a helical arrangement which encircles the double-stranded DNA (28). In such a helical structure, which is based on the positions of the E1 BS, each molecule would be shifted 3 bp relative to its neighbor. This arrangement would provide an explanation for the requirement for the long TA stretch, since interaction of the same element in three E1 molecules that are staggered 3 bp relative to each other would require a 6- to 9-bp TA stretch, depending on the flexibility of the interaction. Together, these data fit very well with the idea that the three E1 molecules in one-half of the DT wrap around the DNA helix and interact with the stretch of six TA bp present in the wt ori (Fig. 8B and C).
How does the ß-hairpin function in melting? A prime candidate for the interaction with the TA bp is a ß-hairpin structure, which is highly conserved in E1 and other papovavirus initiator proteins (1, 18). Our previous studies have demonstrated that H507 at the tip of this ß-hairpin is required for DT formation and for template melting (28). We have suggested that this side chain interacts with the DNA to generate the initial opening of the double-stranded DNA that is observed in the presence of ADP. The same interaction is likely responsible for melting in the presence of ATP.
How melting is generated half a helical turn
away from the TA bp (proximal T-dependent melting) is less clear. The
fact that this melting occurs at a fixed distance from the inserted TA
bp indicates that it is caused by a second interaction between E1 and
DNA, since this would explain how the fixed distance is maintained
(Fig. 7C). Such a
secondary interaction is likely to reside in the linker region between
the helicase domain and the oligomerization domain, based on the
distance between the points of melting (
20 Å).
Together, these data suggest a very interesting model for how E1 may be
able to melt relatively large regions of DNA by using simple tools. One
consequence of the dual interactions of each E1 molecule with DNA is
that each interaction need only be responsible for melting of a few bp
to account for melting of
18 bp, since three E1 molecules and
a total of six interactions are involved. This would allow the use of a
fairly simple mechanism, e.g., some form of base flipping
(23), to generate the
18 bp of melting that we observe in the left flank of the wt
template.
We thank K. Fien for critically reading the manuscript.
Published ahead of print on 3 January 2007. ![]()
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