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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 280, Issue 5, 3242-3250, February 4, 2005
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¶

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From the
Medical Research Council Dunn Human Nutrition Unit, Wellcome Trust/MRC Building, Hills Road Cambridge, CB2 2XY, United Kingdom and the
Sezione di Bioinformatica e Genomica di Bari, Istituto Tecnologie Biomediche, CNR, Via Amendola 168/5, 70126 Bari, Italy
Received for publication, October 20, 2004 , and in revised form, November 19, 2004.
| ABSTRACT |
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| INTRODUCTION |
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replication in prokaryotes, viruses, and plasmids led to the discovery of a single discrete origin for each genome, which was essential for replication (1). The large chromosome size of nuclear DNA necessitates multiple origins of replication (2); nevertheless, it was widely assumed that nuclear DNA would initiate replication at a discrete site for a given region of DNA. The identification of autonomously replicating sequence elements seemed to support this idea (3). However, nuclear DNA replication often initiates at a multiplicity of sites across a broad zone (47). Even the EBV genome, which contains a site that behaves like a classic discrete origin when cut out of the genome and placed in a plasmid, is replicated from numerous origins distributed over a broad zone when it is intact (8). Nor is the initiation zone size-fixed; in flies, the initiation zone size is dependent on developmental stage (9). Recently, we reported that the 16.5-kb circles of mammalian mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) initiate replication from multiple sites across a zone of
4 kilobases (10). Although there is great diversity in the size and organization of mitochondrial genomes of plants, fungi, and animals (11), within the animal kingdom they are very similar (12), particularly so among vertebrates (13). One might therefore anticipate a conserved mechanism of replication for vertebrate mtDNA.
In the 1970s and 80s, a series of studies of mammalian mtDNA gave rise to a strand-asynchronous model of mtDNA replication (14). The model proposed that replication of the two strands of the circle arose in each case from a single initiation site. These sites were designated the heavy and light strand origins of replication (OH1 and OL). The site of second-strand synthesis, OL, is a sequence element that can theoretically form a hairpin stem-loop and to which abundant free 5' ends map. Its primary sequence is poorly conserved in mammals, yet the ability to form a stem-loop is conserved (15).
In its simplest or most literal form, this model cannot apply to all vertebrates. Avian mtDNAs lack a convincing stem-loop structure that might act as a dedicated initiation site for second-strand synthesis, begging the question by what mechanism is avian mtDNA replicated? Birds do share with mammals the abundant short displacement or D-loop form of mtDNA (16, 17), which until recently was widely regarded as supporting the strand-asynchronous model. As in mammals, the 3' end of the D-loop is close to one end of the major non-coding region (NCR), and the 5' end of the D-loop defines OH. At 16,775 nucleotide pairs (np), the mitochondrial genome of Gallus gallus is slightly larger than that of most mammals (18). Avian D-loops, which typically span almost 800 nucleotides (np 75855 in G. gallus), account for much of the length difference. The high degree of similarity in gene content and arrangement between avian and mammalian mtDNA is illustrated in Fig. 1.
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The contentious nature of recent findings in mammals (21, 22), coupled with the dearth of information on mtDNA replication mechanisms in other vertebrates prompted us to investigate replication intermediates derived from purified mitochondria of the avian G. gallus. The results indicate that bidirectional replication occurs at sites dispersed throughout the mitochondrial genome of G. gallus giving rise to replication forks that travel in both directions around the circle of mtDNA. However, initiation of replication is not random, as most initiation events map to a region adjacent to the 3' end of the D-loop, centered on the NADH dehydrogenase 6 gene.
| EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES |
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DNA DigestionsDNA prepared from mitochondria was digested with one of a number of restriction endonucleases under conditions recommended by the manufacturer (New England Biolabs). Where indicated RNase H (Promega) treatment was 1 unit of enzyme for 1 h at 37 °C with 0.11.2 µg of mtDNA. RNase One (Promega) treatment was 5 units of enzyme for 10 min at 37 °C with 0.11.2 µg of mtDNA. S1 nuclease (Promega) treatment was 1 unit for 1.5 min at 37 °C. For RNase H digestion samples were incubated in 20 mM HEPES-KOH, pH 7.8, 50 mM KCl, 10 mM MgCl2, 1 mM dithiothreitol. RNase One and S1 nuclease treatments employed buffers supplied by the manufacturer (Promega).
Two-dimensional Agarose Gel Electrophoresis and Hybridization Neutral/neutral two-dimensional agarose gel electrophoresis (AGE) was performed by the standard method (23). For fragments of 34 kbp, first dimension electrophoresis was 0.7 V/cm for 20 h at room temperature in a 0.4% agarose gel, and second dimension electrophoresis was 6 V/cm for 4 h at 4 °C through a 1% agarose gel, with 300 ng/ml ethidium bromide. In the case of fragments of >5 kb, first dimension electrophoresis was in a 0.35% agarose gel at 1.5 V/cm for 20 h, and second dimension electrophoresis was at 3 V/cm for 18 h in a 0.875% agarose gel.
In-gel digestion for fork-direction gels was carried out as follows, after separation of DNA in the first dimension, the gel lane was excised and washed twice with 10 mM Tris, 0.1 mM EDTA, pH 8.0, for 30 min at room temperature. The gel slice was twice equilibrated with 1x restriction enzyme buffer (New England Biolabs) for 1 h at room temperature. Excess buffer was aspirated, and 100 units of restriction enzyme were added directly to the surface of the gel. After incubation at 37 °C for 3 h, a further 50 units of enzyme were added, and the incubation was continued overnight. After overnight incubation, the gel slice was washed first with 10 mM Tris, 1 mM EDTA, pH 8.0, for 30 min at room temperature and then with Tris borate EDTA 1x for 15 min at room temperature. Thereafter, the procedure was identical to standard second dimension electrophoresis for two-dimensional AGE.
After Southern blotting, specific regions of chick mtDNA were probed for using random-primed amplified fragments of G. gallus mtDNA. 5 µl (50 µCi) of [
-32P]dCTP (3,000 Ci/mmol, Amersham Biosciences) was incubated with 50 ng of heat-denatured DNA and DNA-labeling beads (Amersham Biosciences) for 15 min at 37 °C. Probes for G. gallus mtDNA were amplified using the following primer pairs: 5'-TCAGCAACCCCTGCCTGTAATG-3' and 5'-GGTGGAAGAACCATAACCAAATGC-3' np 429826 (probe 1); 5'-AGCAATCCGTTGGTCTTAGGAAC-3' and 5'-GCGATGAGGAAGGTGAGTAGGTAG-3' np 13,01613,430 (probe 2); 5'-CAGGGTTGGTAAATCTTGTGCC-3' and 5'-CGTTTGTGCTCGTAGTTCTCAGG-3' np 1,5231,797 (probe 3); 5'-CCGAGCGATTGAAGCCACTATC-3' and 5'-CCTAAATGGGAGATGGATGAGAAGG-3' np 5,3905,779 (probe 4); and 5'-GCCTAACGCTTCAACACTCAGC-3' and 5'-AAGGGGGGTAAACTGTCCATCCTG-3' np 6,6137,018 (probe 5) (see also Fig. 1C). Amplification was via the polymerase chain reaction. Start and end numbers are based on the published G. gallus mitochondrial genome sequence (18).
Immobilized fragments of mouse mtDNA were detected by radiolabeled probes amplified via PCR, using the following pairs of primers: 5'-CAAAGGTTTGGTCCTGGCCT-3' and 5'-TGTAGCCCATTTCTTCCCA-3' np 69790; 5'-CACCTTCGAATTTGCAATTCG-3' and 5'-CTGTTCATCCTGTTCCTGCT-3' np 5,2155,709; 5'-CGCCTAATCAACAACCGTCT-3' and 5'-TGGTAGCTGTTGGTGGGCTA-3' np 8,0328,497; and 5'-AACTGAACGCCTAAACGCAGGGA-3' and 5'-AACTGGATTTGAAGTTGCTAGGCA-3' np 13,86714,518. Primer sequences were based on the original published sequence of mouse mtDNA (24).
Southern hybridization was overnight at 65 °C in 0.25 M sodium phosphate, pH 7.2, 7% SDS. Post-hybridization washes were 1x SSC followed by 0.1x SSC, 0.1% SDS, both for 30 min at 65 °C. Filters were exposed to x-ray film and developed after 0.510 days.
Free 5' End Mapping by Ligation-mediated (LM) PCRApproximately 0.5 µg of purified mtDNA was used as template for free 5' end mapping. The DNA was pretreated with 8 units of
exonuclease, according to the Replication Initiation Point mapping technique described previously (25), to remove spurious free 5' ends created by adventitious DNA damage. In addition, covalently bound RNA was degraded by heating samples for 5 min at 95 °C in 0.1 M NaOH (26), and after neutralization with HCl, ligation-mediated PCR was performed essentially as described by Kang et al. (27). Briefly, initial primer extension was performed with oligonucleotide H1, 5'-TAGTCCTTGGGGTCTAACCAAGC-3' (np 16,71516,737). After ligation to a unidirectional linker, prepared by hybridizing oligonucleotides 5'-GCGGTGACCCGGGAGATCTGTATTC-3' and 5'-GAATACAGATC-3' (27), samples were subjected to 20 cycles of PCR, with H2, 5'-CCAAGCGGGGAATAATATGACTTAT-3' (np 16,69716,720), in combination with the longest linker primer. Finally, two rounds of primer extension were performed using radiolabeled H3 5'-TTAGCTGTGGCGTCTAATCCTTCG-3' (np 16,63416,657) or H4 5'-GGTATGGGCTAGGTTTTGTCTTGG-3' (np 16,41716,440). One-step sequencing reactions using 5' end-labeled primers were used to generate sequencing ladders (28). LM-PCR products and sequencing reactions were separated on 6% polyacrylamide gels containing 7 M urea. Primers corresponding to G. gallus mtDNA were based on the published sequence (18).
| RESULTS |
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Analysis of a 7.8-kb AflIII fragment of G. gallus mtDNA, spanning np 10,5401,603 and including OH, revealed a prominent initiation arc and a weak simple Y arc terminating in a prominent spot above the linear duplex arc (Fig. 2A, and interpreted in supplemental information). The prominent initiation arc suggests the majority of initiation events occur within the fragment, via a
mechanism. The prominent spot above the linear duplex arc can be explained by arrest in the NCR of one of a pair of replication forks before the other fork exits the fragment at np 10,540 or by unidirectional replication in the vicinity of OH. In the former case, OH acts as the terminus of replication. The initiation arc comprises products of coupled leading and lagging-strand replication based on their mobility on two-dimensional AGE and their resistance to single strand nuclease (Fig. 2B).
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Direction of Fork MovementIf the replication of chick mtDNA initiates bidirectionally across a zone adjacent to the 3' end of the D-loop, and replication terminates in the NCR, then replication forks will travel in one direction only through fragments outside the initiation zone. To test this proposition, fork-direction gels were produced. These gels require an in-gel restriction enzyme digestion treatment between the first and second electrophoresis steps (23, 29). Fragments from several regions of the genome, including ones distant from the 3' end of the D-loop, gave rise to pairs of Y arcs (Fig. 3, A, D, G, and J) indicating that replication forks enter these fragments from both ends. Therefore, replication forks travel in both directions on G. gallus mtDNA.
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Unidirectional Versus Bidirectional ReplicationUnidirectional replication originating in the NCR would contribute forks traveling exclusively in one direction, whereas a bidirectional initiation zone would generate forks traveling in two directions. Fork-direction analysis of a BsoBI-BsaHI fragment spanning np 12,77715,152 indicated that most forks travel away from the 3' end of the D-loop (Fig. 3G). In contrast, fork-direction analysis of a smaller fragment with one end closer to the 3' end of the D-loop (MboI fragment np 14,86616,476) revealed two simple Y arcs of approximately equal intensity (Fig. 3J). The difference between the MboI-HincII (Fig. 3J) and the BsoBI-BsaHI (Fig. 3G) fragments is decisive. It indicates that in a fragment spanning np 15,40516,476, replication forks exit the fragment at the OH proximal end as frequently as the OH distal end, whereas in a fragment spanning np 12,77715,152 most forks exit at the OH distal end. This is entirely consistent with bidirectional initiation at dispersed sites, whereas unidirectional replication from the NCR would yield only one simple Y arc on fork direction gels, and there would be no difference in the results from the BsoBI/BsaHI and MboI/HincII fragments.
Mapping of the Initiation Zone Based upon Fork-direction Gel DataComparison of the set of fork-direction gels also provided an independent means of mapping the initiation zone of G. gallus mtDNA. Based on the equal intensity of the two Y arcs associated with the MboI-HincII fragment (np 15,40516,476) (Fig. 3J), replication initiates either side of the center of the fragment (np
16,000) at equal frequency. That is, approximately half of all initiation events occur at least 1.8 kilobases downstream of the 3' end of the D-loop. In contrast, in the BsoBI-BsaHI fragment spanning np 12,77715,125, the signal from the Y arc corresponding to forks traveling away from the 3' end of the D-loop was greater than the signal of the Y arc comprising forks traveling toward the 3' end of the D-loop, (Fig. 3G). Therefore, most initiation events originate upstream of the center of this fragment (np
14,000); a conclusion fully compatible with the standard two-dimensional AGE analysis, which predicts an initiation zone adjacent to the NCR.
Initiation of Replication Occurs Genome-wide in Chick mtDNAThe detection of an arc comprising forks traveling toward the 3' end of the D-loop in fragments outside the proposed initiation zone was unexpected (Fig. 3, A, D, and G). These arcs could in theory have arisen by a quite distinct mechanism such as rolling-circle replication, which is believed to operate in yeast mtDNA (3032). Further analysis of fragments of chick mtDNA from around the genome revealed initiation arcs in fragments covering all regions, however (Fig. 4). Hence,
replication can account for all the replication intermediates of chick liver mtDNA.
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The absence of a descending Y arc in fragments in which the NCR is centered (Fig. 4G) indicates that replication forks rarely traverse the NCR in either direction. Therefore the NCR acts as a bidirectional, or bipolar, replication fork barrier.
In the light of these findings it was important to determine whether we had overlooked initiation upstream of the 5' end of the D-loop in mammals. Analysis of a Bsu36I fragment of mouse mtDNA spanning np 16,0226,350 revealed a very faint initiation arc (Fig. 5A) as did another similar restriction fragment (MscI np 15,1904,130) (Fig. 5B). NspI cleaves mouse mtDNA at three sites yielding three fragments of roughly equal size. The most prominent initiation arc was associated with the fragment spanning np 10,758114 (Fig. 5C), which includes the NCR and the previously defined initiation zone (10). However, the NspI fragment of mouse mtDNA spanning np 6,09210,758 also yielded an initiation arc, albeit a weak one (Fig. 5D). Nevertheless, unlike chick, some fragments of mouse mtDNA were not associated with an initiation arc, including the np 1146,092 NspI fragment (Fig. 5E). Faint termination arcs (33) were also detected in a number of fragments of G. gallus mtDNA (Figs. 2E, and 4, A, B, D, and F) suggesting that termination events may be as dispersed as initiation events.
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exonuclease pretreatment degrades spurious ends created by nicking, making replication initiation point mapping a more reliable method for detecting start sites (35). Attempts to apply replication initiation point mapping to mammalian mtDNA have been confounded by the high ribonucleotide content of a majority of mammalian mitochondrial replication intermediates2; however, conventional ribonucleotide-sparse replication intermediates were more abundant in G. gallus mtDNA, making the technique potentially applicable.
Although initiation zones allow origin firing at multiple positions there are recognized preferred start sites in nuclear DNA (3638). Therefore, we focused on the ND6 gene, which appeared to be the center of the initiation zone (see "Discussion"). Standard LM-PCR revealed a host of free 5' ends (Fig. 6, lanes 1 and 3). Replication initiation point mapping simplified the results, revealing persistent prominent free 5' ends, at np 16,184, 16,257, 16,492, 16,567, and 16,581 of the NADH 6 gene, and np 16,122, and 16,126 of tRNAPro gene (Fig. 6, lanes 2 and 4). Note that these free ends are on the L-strand, which will often be the leading strand for the early arresting fork in our model. Thus, the prominent free 5' ends detected on the L-strand are consistent with these loci being preferred sites of initiation within the zone defined by two-dimensional AGE mapping. Replication fork arrest or pausing will also generate prominent free 5' ends of DNA; however, frequent fork arrest can be discounted as an explanation of the prominent free 5' ends, as there was no evidence of replication pausing in this region of the G. gallus mitochondrial genome (Fig. 2).
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| DISCUSSION |
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replication, as per mammalian liver and placenta (10). Accordingly, higher vertebrates appear to employ a common mechanism of mtDNA replication. The first model of strand-coupled mtDNA replication in mammals erroneously inferred that the association between initiation arcs and fragments containing OH was indicative of unidirectional replication from OH (19). Subsequently, initiation arcs were found in fragments lacking OH, and this led to characterization of an initiation zone of bidirectional replication downstream of the 3' end of the D-loop (10). The latest findings necessitate further revision of the model, as fork-direction gels indicate that replication occurs in both directions throughout the mitochondrial genome of G. gallus (Fig. 3), and moreover, standard two-dimensional gels revealed a fraction of initiation events mapping to the region immediately upstream of the 5' end of the D-loop in chick and mouse mtDNA (Figs. 4 and 5). Thus, there are two zones of initiation flanking the NCR, which can be represented as a single zone interrupted by a termination region, which may be synonymous with the NCR (Fig. 7A).
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ND6 is unique in vertebrates in being the only protein encoded on the L-strand of mtDNA. ND6 is also encoded on the opposite strand to all the other mitochondrial proteins of some invertebrates (e.g. Ref. 44), but other proteins are encoded on the same strand as ND6 in insects (45), whereas in urochordates all 13 proteins are encoded on one strand (46). Further study of mtDNAs of these other animals could help clarify the role of the ND6 gene in mtDNA replication.
Extent of the Initiation Zone in Mouse mtDNAInitiation arcs were detectable genome-wide in chick and the new data from mouse indicate a significantly broader initiation zone than described previously (10). Nevertheless, several fragments of mouse mtDNA lacked a detectable initiation arc, the NspI fragment np 1146,092 (Fig. 5E) and the XbaI and BamHI fragments spanning np 9538,529 and 4,27511,167, respectively (10). These fragments define an initiation-free region of mouse mtDNA spanning approximately np 3,0007,700.
All the data in this report are consistent with an initiation zone centered close to the 3' end of the D-loop in G. gallus mtDNA. The faint initiation arcs in fragments far from the center of the initiation zone can be regarded as the diminishing effect of the zone with distance from the center. The influence of the initiation zone extends throughout the mitochondrial genome of the chick and most of that of mouse.
Mitochondrial DNA Replication in Other AnimalsThe similarities between avian and mammalian mtDNA replication reported here suggest that
replication may well be the common mechanism for all vertebrate mtDNAs. As for invertebrates, it is known only that echinoderm (44) and malarial mtDNA (47) yield conventional simple replication fork arcs, implying that invertebrate mtDNA replication involves coupled leading and lagging strand synthesis. Therefore, it remains to be determined whether or not
replication is the universal mechanism of mtDNA replication of animals.
In conclusion, the replication of an avian mitochondrial genome occurs via
replication. G. gallus mtDNA replication is bidirectional and arises from an initiation zone straddling the NCR. The influence of the initiation zone pervades the entire mitochondrial genome in the chick and most of that of mouse. The center of the zone maps to the ND6 gene, and prominent free 5' ends of DNA are found in this region, which represent candidate start sites of DNA replication.
| FOOTNOTES |
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The on-line version of this article (available at http://www.jbc.org) contains supplemental information. ![]()
¶ Recipient of an EMBO short-term fellowship (AprilJuly 2001, ASTF9784) and a Royal Society Travel Fellowship (September 2002August 2003) and is currently supported by the European Union sixth Framework Programme for Research, Priority 1 "Life sciences, genomics and biotechnology for health" contract number LSHM-CT-2004-503116, and the European Commission (QLG1-CT-2001-00966). ![]()
|| To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel.: 44-12-23-25-28-40; Fax: 44-12-23-25-28-45; E-mail: holt{at}mrc-dunn.cam.ac.uk.
1 The abbreviations used are: OH, heavy strand origin of replication; OL, light strand origin of replication; NCR, non-coding region; np, nucleotide pairs; AGE, agarose gel electrophoresis; LM-PCR, ligation-mediated PCR; ND6, NADH dehydrogenase subunit 6 gene. ![]()
2 M. Yang and I. J. Holt, unpublished experiments. ![]()
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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