RESUMO
Despite key roles in sister chromatid cohesion and chromosome organization, the mechanism by which cohesin rings are loaded onto DNA is still unknown. Here we combine biochemical approaches and cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM) to visualize a cohesin loading intermediate in which DNA is locked between two gates that lead into the cohesin ring. Building on this structural framework, we design experiments to establish the order of events during cohesin loading. In an initial step, DNA traverses an N-terminal kleisin gate that is first opened upon ATP binding and then closed as the cohesin loader locks the DNA against the ATPase gate. ATP hydrolysis will lead to ATPase gate opening to complete DNA entry. Whether DNA loading is successful or results in loop extrusion might be dictated by a conserved kleisin N-terminal tail that guides the DNA through the kleisin gate. Our results establish the molecular basis for cohesin loading onto DNA.
Assuntos
Proteínas de Ciclo Celular/ultraestrutura , Cromátides/ultraestrutura , Proteínas Cromossômicas não Histona/ultraestrutura , DNA/ultraestrutura , Troca de Cromátide Irmã/genética , Adenosina Trifosfatases/genética , Proteínas de Ciclo Celular/genética , Cromátides/genética , Proteínas Cromossômicas não Histona/genética , Segregação de Cromossomos/genética , Microscopia Crioeletrônica , DNA/genética , Conformação de Ácido Nucleico , Conformação Proteica , Saccharomyces cerevisiae/ultraestrutura , Proteínas de Saccharomyces cerevisiae/genética , Proteínas de Saccharomyces cerevisiae/ultraestrutura , CoesinasRESUMO
In the eukaryotic replisome, DNA unwinding by the Cdc45-MCM-Go-Ichi-Ni-San (GINS) (CMG) helicase requires a hexameric ring-shaped ATPase named minichromosome maintenance (MCM), which spools single-stranded DNA through its central channel. Not all six ATPase sites are required for unwinding; however, the helicase mechanism is unknown. We imaged ATP-hydrolysis-driven translocation of the CMG using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and found that the six MCM subunits engage DNA using four neighboring protomers at a time, with ATP binding promoting DNA engagement. Morphing between different helicase states leads us to suggest a non-symmetric hand-over-hand rotary mechanism, explaining the asymmetric requirements of ATPase function around the MCM ring of the CMG. By imaging of a higher-order replisome assembly, we find that the Mrc1-Csm3-Tof1 fork-stabilization complex strengthens the interaction between parental duplex DNA and the CMG at the fork, which might support the coupling between DNA translocation and fork unwinding.