The N-terminal noncatalytic region of Xenopus RecQ4 is required for chromatin binding of DNA polymerase alpha in the initiation of DNA replication.

ABSTRACT: Recruitment of DNA polymerases onto replication origins is a crucial step in the assembly of eukaryotic replication machinery. A previous study in budding yeast suggests that Dpb11 controls the recruitment of DNA polymerases alpha and epsilon onto the origins. Sld2 is an essential replication protein that interacts with Dpb11, but no metazoan homolog has yet been identified. We isolated Xenopus RecQ4 as a candidate Sld2 homolog. RecQ4 is a member of the metazoan RecQ helicase family, and its N-terminal region shows sequence similarity with Sld2. In Xenopus egg extracts, RecQ4 is essential for the initiation of DNA replication, in particular for chromatin binding of DNA polymerase alpha. An N-terminal fragment of RecQ4 devoid of the helicase domain could rescue the replication activity of R

SUBMITTER: Matsuno K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1489170 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature