Evidence for a second function for Saccharomyces cerevisiae Rev1p.

The function of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae REV1 gene is required for translesion replication and mutagenesis induced by a wide variety of DNA-damaging agents. We showed previously that Rev1p possesses a deoxycytidyl transferase activity, which incorporates dCMP opposite abasic sites in the DNA template, and that dCMP insertion is the major event during bypass of an abasic site in vivo. However, we now find that Rev1p function is needed for the bypass of a T-T (6-4) UV photoproduct, a process in which dCMP incorporation occurs only very rarely, indicating that Rev1p possesses a second function. In addition, we find that Rev1p function is, as expected, required for bypass of an abasic site. However, replication past this lesion was also much reduced in the G-193R rev1-1 mutant, which we find retains substantial levels of deoxycytidyl transferase activity. This mutant is, therefore, presumably deficient principally in the second, at present poorly defined, function. The bypass of an abasic site and T-T (6-4) lesion also depended on REV3 function, but neither it nor REV1 was required for replication past the T-T dimer; bypass of this lesion presumably depends on another enzyme.

Effect of DNA polymerases and high mobility group protein 1 on the carrier ligand specificity for translesion synthesis past platinum-DNA adducts.

Translesion synthesis past Pt-DNA adducts can affect both the cytotoxicity and mutagenicity of the platinum adducts. We have shown previously that the extent of replicative bypass in vivo is influenced by the carrier ligand of platinum adducts. The specificity of replicative bypass may be determined by the DNA polymerase complexes that catalyze translesion synthesis past Pt-DNA adducts and/or by DNA damage-recognition proteins that bind to the Pt-DNA adducts and block translesion replication. In the present study, primer extension on DNA templates containing site-specifically placed cisplatin, oxaliplatin, JM216, or chlorodiethylenetriamine-Pt adducts revealed that the eukaryotic DNA polymerases beta, zeta, gamma, and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 reverse transcriptase (HIV-1 RT) had a similar specificity for translesion synthesis past Pt-DNA adducts (dien >> oxaliplatin >/= cisplatin > JM216). Primer extension assays performed in the presence of high mobility group protein 1 (HMG1), which is known to recognize cisplatin-damaged DNA, revealed that inhibition of translesion synthesis by HMG1 also depended on the carrier ligand of the Pt-DNA adduct (cisplatin > oxaliplatin = JM216 >> dien). These data were consistent with the results of gel-shift experiments showing similar differences in the affinity of HMG1 for DNA modified with the different platinum adducts. Our studies show that both DNA polymerases and damage-recognition proteins can impart specificity to replicative bypass of Pt-DNA adducts. This information may serve as a model for further studies of translesion synthesis.

Deoxycytidyl transferase activity of yeast REV1 protein.

Mutagenesis induced by DNA damage in Saccharomyces cerevisiae requires the products of the REV1, REV3 and REV7 genes. The Rev3 and Rev7 proteins are subunits of DNA polymerase-zeta (Pol-zeta), an enzyme whose sole function appears to be translesion synthesis. Rev1 protein has weak homology with UmuC protein which facilitates translesion synthesis in Escherichia coli by an unknown mechanism. We show here that Rev1 protein has a deoxycytidyl transferase activity which transfers a dCMP residue from dCTP to the 3' end of a DNA primer in a template-dependent reaction. Efficient transfer occurred opposite a template abasic site, but approximately 20% transfer also occurred opposite a template guanine and approximately 10% opposite adenine or uracil; < or = 1% was seen opposite thymine or cytosine. Insertion of cytosine opposite an abasic site produced a terminus that was extended efficiently by Pol-zeta, but not by yeast Pol-alpha.

Thymine-thymine dimer bypass by yeast DNA polymerase zeta.

The REV3 and REV7 genes of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae are required for DNA damage-induced mutagenesis. The Rev3 and Rev7 proteins were shown to form a complex with DNA polymerase activity. This polymerase replicated past a thymine-thymine cis-syn cyclobutane dimer, a lesion that normally severely inhibits replication, with an efficiency of approximately 10 percent. In contrast, bypass replication efficiency with yeast DNA polymerase alpha was no more than 1 percent. The Rev3-Rev7 complex is the sixth eukaryotic DNA polymerase to be described, and is therefore called DNA polymerase zeta.

DNA polymerase zeta and the control of DNA damage induced mutagenesis in eukaryotes.

DNA damage induced mutations arising during the course of translesion replication are likely to be an important contributory cause in the development of many cancers. In budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a good model system with which to investigate this process, mutagenesis is associated with the RAD6 repair pathway and depends on the functions of the REV1, REV3 and REV7 genes. The Rev3 and Rev7 proteins are subunits of a new type of DNA polymerase, called DNA polymerase zeta, that appears to carry out translesion replication, but no other repair, recombination or replication function. Pol zeta replicates past a T-T cyclobutane dimer with a higher efficiency than yeast pol alpha, is less prone than this enzyme to insert an incorrect nucleotide and is more efficient at elongating from a mismatched terminus. Rev1 protein is a terminal nucleotidyl transferase that inserts dCMP opposite template G, A and abasic sites. Types of mutations induced during translesion replication appear to depend largely on lesion structure, but the frequency and accuracy of bypass also depend on replication conditions. Inhibition of the activity or expression of pol zeta may be clinically useful for patients undergoing cancer therapy or for those with a familial predisposition to cancer.

The REV3 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is transcriptionally regulated more like a repair gene than one encoding a DNA polymerase.

We measured the relative steady-state levels of the mRNA transcribed from the Saccharomyces cerevisiae REV3 gene in cells at different stages of the mitotic and meiotic cycles, and after UV irradiation. This gene is thought to encode a DNA polymerase concerned only with a specific recovery function, the replication on mutagen-damaged templates that produces damaged-induced mutations. In keeping with this proposed function, the REV3 gene showed no evidence of the periodic transcription at the G1/S boundary of the mitotic and meiotic cycle that occurs with genes encoding replication enzymes. However, levels of REV3 mRNA were much increased in late meiotic cells, like those of transcripts of some other DNA repair-related genes. Steady-state levels of REV3 transcript were increased only slightly in response to UV irradiation.

Purification and characterization of the 180- and 86-kilodalton subunits of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae DNA primase-DNA polymerase protein complex. The 180-kilodalton subunit has both DNA polymerase and 3'----5'-exonuclease activities.

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae catalytic DNA polymerase I 180-kDa subunit and the tightly associated 86-kDa polypeptide have been purified using immunoaffinity chromatography, permitting further characterization of the DNA polymerase activity of the DNA primase-DNA polymerase protein complex. The subunits were purified to apparent homogeneity from separate overproducing yeast strains using monoclonal antibodies specifically recognizing each subunit. When the individual subunits were recombined in vitro a p86p180 physical complex formed spontaneously, as judged by immunoprecipitation of 180-kDa polypeptide and DNA polymerase activity with the anti-86-kDa monoclonal antibody. The 86-kDa subunit stabilized the DNA polymerase activity of the 180-kDa catalytic subunit at 30 degrees C, the physiological temperature. The apparent DNA polymerase processivity of 50-60 nucleotides on poly(dA).oligo(dT)12 or poly(dT).oligo(A)8-12 template-primer was not affected by the presence of the 86-kDa subunit but was reduced by increased Mg2+ concentration. The Km of the catalytic 180-kDa subunit for dATP or DNA primer terminus was unaffected by the presence of the 86-kDa subunit. The isolated 180-kDa polypeptide was sufficient to catalyze all the DNA synthesis that had been observed previously in the DNA primase-DNA polymerase protein complex. The 180-kDa subunit possessed a 3'----5'-exonuclease activity that catalyzed degradation of polynucleotides, but degradation of oligonucleotide substrates of chain lengths up to 50 was not detected. This exonuclease activity was unaffected by the presence of the 86-kDa subunit. Despite the striking physical similarity of the DNA primase-DNA polymerase protein complex in all eukaryotes examined, the data presented here indicate differences in the enzymatic properties detected in preparations of the DNA polymerase subunits isolated from S. cerevisiae as compared with the properties of preparations from Drosophila cells. In particular, the 3'----5'-exonuclease activity associated with the yeast catalytic DNA polymerase subunit was not masked by the 86-kDa subunit.

Bacteriophage T7 DNA packaging. I. Plasmids containing a T7 replication origin and the T7 concatemer junction are packaged into transducing particles during phage infection.

Bacteriophage T7 DNA is a linear duplex molecule with a 160 base-pair direct repeat (terminal redundancy) at its ends. During replication, large DNA concatemers are formed, which are multimers of the T7 genome linked head to tail through recombination at the terminal redundancy. We define the sequence that results from this recombination, a mature right end joined to the left end of T7 DNA, as the concatemer junction. To study the processing and packaging of T7 concatemers into phage particles, we have cloned the T7 concatemer junction into a plasmid vector. This plasmid is efficiently (at least 15 particles/infected cell) packaged into transducing particles during a T7 infection. These transducing particles can be separated from T7 phage by sedimentation to equilibrium in CsCl. The packaged plasmid DNA is a linear concatemer of about 40 x 10(3) base-pairs with ends at the expected T7 DNA sequences. Thus, the T7 concatemer junction sequence on the plasmid is recognized for processing and packaging by the phage system. We have identified a T7 DNA replication origin near the right end of the T7 genome that is necessary for efficient plasmid packaging. The origin, which is associated with a T7 RNA polymerase promoter, causes amplification of the plasmid DNA during T7 infection. The amplified plasmid DNA sediments very rapidly and contains large concatemers, which are expected to be good substrates for the packaging reaction. When cloned in pBR322, a sequence containing only the mature right end of T7 DNA is sufficient for efficient packaging. Since this sequence does not contain DNA to the right of the site where a mature T7 right end is formed, it was expected that right ends would not form on this DNA. In fact, with this plasmid the right end does not form at the normal T7 sequence but is instead formed within the vector. Apparently, the T7 packaging system can also recognize a site in pBR322 DNA to produce an end for packaging. This site is not recognized solely by a "headful" mechanism, since there can be considerable variation in the amount of DNA packaged (32 x 10(3) to 42 x 10(3) base-pairs). Furthermore, deletion of this region from the vector DNA prevents packaging of the plasmid. The end that is formed in vector DNA is somewhat heterogeneous. About one-third of the ends are at a unique site (nucleotide 1712 of pBR322), which is followed by the sequence 5'-ATCTGT-3'. This sequence is also found adjacent to the cut made in a T7 DNA concatemer to produce a normal T7 right end.

Bacteriophage T7 DNA packaging. II. Analysis of the DNA sequences required for packaging using a plasmid transduction assay.

Recombinant plasmids carrying a bacteriophage T7 origin of DNA replication and sequences from the T7 concatemer junction are efficiently packaged into transducing particles during phage infection. With some constructs, as many as 50 transducing particles are produced per infected cell. We have used this plasmid packaging system to determine which T7 DNA sequences are required for the processing and packaging of the plasmid concatemers and to investigate the effects of altering the spacing and orientation of the required sequences. An origin of T7 DNA replication is essential for high-efficiency transduction, presumably to form the plasmid concatemers that are the substrates of the packaging reaction. In addition, two short sequences from the concatemer junction are required, one flanking the site where the right end of T7 DNA is formed (pacR) and the other flanking the site for formation of the left end (pacL). The spacing between pacR and pacL is not important, but the sequences must be positioned in the same orientation on the plasmid. With certain deletions of pacL, the specificity of end formation is reduced but the efficiency of packaging is near normal. Plasmids that contain only one of the two pac sites are packaged at about 10% of the efficiency of those with both sites. The residual packaging of these plasmids results from regeneration of the other packaging site by recombination with T7 phage DNA. To function in plasmid packaging, the sequences from the concatemer junction must be positioned on the plasmid in the same orientation relative to the T7 replication origin as is found in T7 DNA. This apparently results from a requirement for transcription through these sequences in the rightward direction from the T7 promoter that is associated with the replication origin. Such transcription from another T7 promoter (phi 10), that is not itself a replication origin, allows packaging when the origin is in the opposite orientation.

Bacteriophage T7 DNA packaging. III. A "hairpin" end formed on T7 concatemers may be an intermediate in the processing reaction.

An unusual left end (M-end) has been identified on bacteriophage T7 DNA isolated from T7-infected cells. This end has a "hairpin" structure and is formed at a short inverted repeat sequence centered around nucleotide 39,587 of T7, 190 base-pairs to the left of the site where a mature left end is formed on the T7 concatemer. We do not detect the companion right end that would be formed if the M-end is produced by a double-stranded cut on the T7 concatemer. This suggests that the hairpin left end may be generated from a single-stranded cut in the DNA that is used to prime rightward DNA synthesis. The formation of M-end does not require the products of T7 genes 10, 18 or 19, proteins that are essential for the formation of mature T7 ends. During infection with a T7 gene 3 (endonuclease) mutant, phage DNA synthesis is reduced and the concatemers are not processed into unit length DNA molecules, but both M-end and the mature right end are formed on the concatemer DNA. These two ends are also found associated with the large, rapidly sedimenting concatemers formed during a normal T7 infection while the mature left end is present only on unit length T7 DNA molecules. We propose that DNA replication primed from the hairpin end produced by a nick in the inverted repeat sequence provides a mechanism to duplicate the terminal repeat before DNA packaging. Packaging is initiated with the formation of a mature right end on the branched concatemer and, as the phage head is filled, the T7 gene 3 endonuclease may be required to trim the replication forks from the DNA. Concatemer processing is completed by the removal of the 190 base-pair hairpin end to produce the mature left end.

Laser crosslinking of E. coli RNA polymerase and T7 DNA.

The first photochemical crosslinking of a protein to a nucleic acid using laser excitation is reported. A single, 120 mJ, 20 ns pulse at 248 nm crosslinks about 10% of bound E. coli RNA polymerase to T7 DNA under the conditions studied. The crosslinking yield depends on mercaptoethanol concentration, and is a linear function of laser intensity. The protein subunits crosslinked to DNA are beta, beta' and sigma.

Genetic analysis of two bacterial RNA polymerase mutants that inhibit the growth of bacteriophage T7.

The Escherichia coli mutants 7009 and BR3 are defective in the growth of bacteriophage T7. We have previously shown that both of these mutant hosts produce an altered RNA polymerase which is resistant to inhibition by the T7 gene 2 protein (De Wyngaert and Hinkle 1979). In both strains, the mutation which prevents T7 growth is closely linked to rifA (rpoB). Both mutants are complemented by transformation with a multicopy plasmid carrying rpoB and rpoC but not by a plasmid carrying only rpoB. This indicates that the mutations reside in rpoC, the structural gene for the beta' subunit of RNA polymerase. When a single copy of the wildtype rpoC allele is introduced into the mutant using the transducing phage lambda drifd18, the mutant allele is dominant over wildtype. The lambda drifd18 transductant also remains unable to support the growth of T7 in the presence of rifampin. This supports our conclusion that the mutation is in rpoC. We have measured the growth of T7 phage, the kinetics of phage DNA synthesis, and the structure of replicative DNA intermediates in several transductants, and compared these results with those obtained in the original mutant strains.

Purification and characterization of a uracil-DNA glycosylase from the yeast. Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

An activity which releases free uracil from bacteriophage PBS1 DNA has been purified over 10,000 fold from extracts of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The enzyme is active on both native and denatured PBS1 DNA and is active in the absence of divalent cation, and in the presence of 1 mM EDTA. The enzyme has a negative molecular weight of 27,800 as estimated by glycerol gradient centrifugation and gel filtration. Enzyme activity has been recovered after denaturation in SDS and electrophoresis in an SDS polyacrylamide gel. This analysis suggests that the enzyme consists of a single polypeptide chain of about 27,000 daltons. Normal levels of uracil-DNA glycosylase activity were found in partially purified extracts of the nitrous-acid sensitive rad18-2 mutant of yeast.

Bacteriophage T7 DNA replication in vitro. Stimulation of DNA synthesis by T7 RNA polymerase.

Four T7 products, DNA polymerase, gene 4 protein, RNA polymerase, and DNA binding protein, have been purified from phage-infected cells. It has been previously shown (Hinkle, D. C., and Richardson, C. C. (1975) J. Biol. Chem. 250, 5523-5529; Kolodner, R., and Richardson, C. C. (1978) J. Biol. Chem. 253, 574-584) that two T7 products, DNA polymerase and gene 4 protein, catalyze extensive synthesis on duplex T7 DNA containing single strand breaks. However, the T7 DNA polymerase purified by our procedure does not efficiently contribute in this reaction, although the preliminary evidence suggests that this enzyme may be the native form of the DNA polymerase. Such inefficient T7 DNA synthesis is greatly augmented by adding the third T7 product, namely T7 RNA polymerase. This DNA synthesis apparently requires transcription, since each of the four rNTPs must be present. The rate of synthesis is increased about 2-fold by the addition of T7 DNA binding protein. In contrast to the results obtained when DNA synthesis is initiated at single strand breaks in a duplex DNA molecule, essentially none of the DNA synthesized in the presence of T7 RNA polymerase is covalently attached to the T7 DNA template. We postulate that in this in vitro system, T7 DNA replication is initiated using an RNA primer synthesized by the T7 RNA polymerase.

Bacteriophage T7 DNA replication in vitro. Electron micrographic analysis of T7 DNA synthesized with purified proteins.

Extensive replication of duplex T7 DNA is catalyzed in reactions contining T7 DNA polymerase, T7 gene 4 protein, and T7 RNA polymerase. When the product of this reaction is analyzed in the electron microscope, many eye form and Y form replication intermediates are observed. Replication in vitro is not initiated at a single region of the T7 genome. However, we tentatively conclude that initiation does occur preferentially at a few specific sites along the DNA, and that these sites may be near promoters at which the T7 RNA polymerase initiates transcription.

Evidence for direct involvement of T7 RNA polymerase bacteriophage DNA replication.

Experiments in a number of different systems have suggested that the initiation of DNA replication is often dependent upon transcription at the origin of replication. During infection with bacteriophage T7, the T7 genome is transcribed first by the bacterial RNA polymerase and then by a phage-coded enzyme, the product of gene 1. The bacterial enzyme does not appear to be directly involved in the initiation of replication as phage DNA synthesis is not inhibited by rifampin. For testing whether the T7 RNA polymerase plays a role in replication, a T7 gene 1 temperature-sensitive mutant was used, and the RNA polymerase was inactivated at intervals after infection by rapidly raising the temperature of the culture. The experiments indicated that the inactivation of the T7 RNA polymerase caused the cessation of phage DNA synthesis, even at later times during infection when the inhibition of protein synthesis with chloramphenicol had no effect on DNA replication. This suggests that in addition to its role in gene expression, the T7 RNA polymerase plays a direct role in T7 DNA replication.

Characterization of the defects in bacteriophage T7 DNA synthesis during growth in the Escherichia coli mutant tsnB.

The Escherichia coli mutant tsnB (M. Chamberlin, J. Virol. 14:509-516, 1974) is unable to support the growth of bacteriophage T7, although all classes of phage proteins are produced and the host is killed by the infection. During growth in this mutant host, the rate of phage DNA synthesis is reduced and the DNA is not packaged into stable, phagelike particles. The replicating DNA forms concatemers but the very large replicative intermediates (approximately 440S) identified by Paetkau et al. (J. Virol. 22:130-141, 1977) are not detected in T7+-infected tsnB cells. These large structures are formed in tsnB cells infected with a T7 gene 3 (endonuclease) mutant, where normal processing of the large intermediates into shorter concatemers is blocked. At later times during infection of tsnB cells, the replicating DNA accumulates in molecules about 30% shorter than unit length. Analysis of this DNA with a restriction endonuclease indicates that it is missing sequences from the ends (particularly the left end) of the genome. The loss of these specific sequences does not occur during infections with T7 gene 10 (head protein) or gene 19 (maturation protein) mutants. This suggests that the processing of concatemers into unit-length DNA molecules may occur normally in T7 -infected tsnB cells and that the shortened DNA arises from exonucleolytic degradation of the mature DNA molecules. These results are discussed in relation to our recent observation (M. A. DeWyngaert and D. C. Hinkle, J. Biol. Chem. 254:11247-11253, 1979) that E. coli tsnB produces an altered RNA polymerase which is resistance to inhibition by the T7 gene 2 protein.