Colibactin is a small molecule produced by certain bacterial species of the human microbiota that harbour the pks genomic island. Pks(+) bacteria induce a genotoxic phenotype in eukaryotic cells and have been linked with colorectal cancer progression. Colibactin is produced in a benign, prodrug form which, prior to export, is enzymatically matured by the producing bacteria to its active form. Although the complete structure of colibactin has not been determined, key structural features have been described including an electrophilic cyclopropane motif, which is believed to alkylate DNA. To investigate the influence of the putative "warhead" and the prodrug strategy on genotoxicity, a series of photolabile colibactin probes were prepared that upon irradiation induced a pks(+) like phenotype in HeLa cells. Furthermore, results from DNA cross-linking and imaging studies of clickable analogues enforce the hypothesis that colibactin effects its genotoxicity by directly targeting DNA.

The role of Ribonuclease H1 (RNase H1) during primer removal and ligation at the mitochondrial origin of light-strand DNA synthesis (OriL) is a key, yet poorly understood, step in mitochondrial DNA maintenance. Here, we reconstitute the replication cycle of L-strand synthesis in vitro using recombinant mitochondrial proteins and model OriL substrates. The process begins with initiation of DNA replication at OriL and ends with primer removal and ligation. We find that RNase H1 partially removes the primer, leaving behind the last one to three ribonucleotides. These 5′-end ribonucleotides disturb ligation, a conclusion which is supported by analysis of RNase H1-deficient patient cells. A second nuclease is therefore required to remove the last ribonucleotides and we demonstrate that Flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1) can execute this function in vitro. Removal of RNA primers at OriL thus depends on a two-nuclease model, which in addition to RNase H1 requires FEN1 or a FEN1-like activity. These findings define the role of RNase H1 at OriL and help to explain the pathogenic consequences of disease causing mutations in RNase H1.

Mammalian mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) replication and repair have been studied intensively for the last 50 years. Although recently advances in elucidating the molecular mechanisms of mtDNA maintenance and the proteins involved in these have been made, there are disturbing gaps between the existing theoretical models and experimental observations. Conflicting data and hypotheses exist about the role of RNA and ribonucleotides in mtDNA replication, but also about the priming of replication and the formation of pathological rearrangements. In the presented review, we have attempted to match these loose ends and draft consensus where it can be found, while identifying outstanding issues for future research.

Ribonucleotides (rNMPs) are frequently incorporated during replication or repair by DNA polymerases and failure to remove them leads to instability of nuclear DNA (nDNA). Conversely, rNMPs appear to be relatively well-tolerated in mitochondnal DNA (mtDNA), although the mechanisms behind the tolerance remain unclear. We here show that the human mitochondrial DNA polymerase gamma (Pol gamma) bypasses single rNMPs with an unprecedentedly high fidelity and efficiency. In addition, Pol gamma exhibits a strikingly low frequency of rNMP incorporation, a property, which we find is independent of its exonuclease activity. However, the physiological levels of free rNTPs partially inhibit DNA synthesis by Pol gamma and render the polymerase more sensitive to imbalanced dNTP pools. The characteristics of Pol gamma reported here could have implications for forms of rntDNA depletion syndrome (MDS) that are associated with imbalanced cellular dNTP pools. Our results show that at the rNTPidNIP ratios that are expected to prevail in such disease states, Pol gamma enters a polymerasetexonuclease idling mode that leads to mtDNA replication stalling. This could ultimately lead to mtDNA depletion and, consequently, to mitochondrial disease phenotypes such as those observed in MDS.

PrimPol is a human deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) polymerase that also possesses primase activity and is involved in DNA damage tolerance, the prevention of genome instability and mitochondrial DNA maintenance. In this review, we focus on recent advances in biochemical and crystallographic studies of PrimPol, as well as in identification of new protein-protein interaction partners. Furthermore, we discuss the possible functions of PrimPol in both the nucleus and the mitochondria.

Human PrimPol is a DNA primase/polymerase involved in DNA damage tolerance and prevents nuclear genome instability. PrimPol is also localized to the mitochondria, but its precise function in mitochondrial DNA maintenance has remained elusive. PrimPol works both as a translesion (TLS) polymerase and as the primase that restarts DNA replication after a lesion. However, the observed biochemical activities of PrimPol vary considerably between studies as a result of different reaction conditions used. To reveal the effects of reaction composition on PrimPol DNA polymerase activity, we tested the polymerase activity in the presence of various buffer agents, salt concentrations, pH values and metal cofactors. Additionally, the enzyme stability was analyzed under various conditions. We demonstrate that the reaction buffer with pH 6-6.5, low salt concentrations and 3 mM Mg2+ or 0.3-3 mM Mn2+ cofactor ions supports the highest DNA polymerase activity of human PrimPol in vitro. The DNA polymerase activity of PrimPol was found to be stable after multiple freeze-thaw cycles and prolonged protein incubation on ice. However, rapid heat-inactivation of the enzyme was observed at 37 degrees C. We also for the first time describe the purification of human PrimPol from a human cell line and compare the benefits of this approach to the expression in Escherichia coli and in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells. Our results show that active PrimPol can be purified from E. coli and human suspension cell line in high quantities and that the activity of the purified enzyme is similar in both expression systems. Conversely, the yield of full-length protein expressed in S. cerevisiae was considerably lower and this system is therefore not recommended for expression of full-length recombinant human PrimPol.

Eukaryotic PrimPol is a recently discovered DNA-dependent DNA primase and translesion synthesis DNA polymerase found in the nucleus and mitochondria. Although PrimPol has been shown to be required for repriming of stalled replication forks in the nucleus, its role in mitochondria has remained unresolved. Here we demonstrate in vivo and in vitro that PrimPol can reinitiate stalled mtDNA replication and can prime mtDNA replication from nonconventional origins. Our results not only help in the understanding of how mitochondria cope with replicative stress but can also explain some controversial features of the lagging-strand replication.

Incorporation of ribonucleotides into DNA during genome replication is a significant source of genomic instability. The frequency of ribonucleotides in DNA is determined by deoxyribonucleoside triphosphate/ribonucleoside triphosphate (dNTP/rNTP) ratios, by the ability of DNA polymerases to discriminate against ribonucleotides, and by the capacity of repair mechanisms to remove incorporated ribonucleotides. To simultaneously compare how the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes incorporate and remove ribonucleotides, we challenged these processes by changing the balance of cellular dNTPs. Using a collection of yeast strains with altered dNTP pools, we discovered an inverse relationship between the concentration of individual dNTPs and the amount of the corresponding ribonucleotides incorporated in mitochondrial DNA, while in nuclear DNA the ribonucleotide pattern was only altered in the absence of ribonucleotide excision repair. Our analysis uncovers major differences in ribonucleotide repair between the two genomes and provides concrete evidence that yeast mitochondria lack mechanisms for removal of ribonucleotides incorporated by the mtDNA polymerase. Furthermore, as cytosolic dNTP pool imbalances were transmitted equally well into the nucleus and the mitochondria, our results support a view of the cytosolic and mitochondrial dNTP pools in frequent exchange.

Oxidative stress is capable of causing damage to various cellular constituents, including DNA. There is however limited knowledge on how oxidative stress influences mitochondrial DNA and its replication. Here, we have used purified mtDNA replication proteins, i.e. DNA polymerase. holoenzyme, the mitochondrial single-stranded DNA binding protein mtSSB, the replicative helicase Twinkle and the proposed mitochondrial translesion synthesis polymerase PrimPol to study lesion bypass synthesis on oxidative damage-containing DNA templates. Our studies were carried out at dNTP levels representative of those prevailing either in cycling or in non-dividing cells. At dNTP concentrations that mimic those in cycling cells, the replication machinery showed substantial stalling at sites of damage, and these problems were further exacerbated at the lower dNTP concentrations present in resting cells. PrimPol, the translesion synthesis polymerase identified inside mammalian mitochondria, did not promote mtDNA replication fork bypass of the damage. This argues against a conventional role for PrimPol as a mitochondrial translesion synthesis DNA polymerase for oxidative DNA damage; however, we show that Twinkle, the mtDNA replicative helicase, is able to stimulate PrimPol DNA synthesis in vitro, suggestive of an as yet unidentified role of PrimPol in mtDNA metabolism.

Proteostasis is crucial for life and maintained by cellular chaperones and proteases. One major mitochondrial protease is the ClpXP complex, which is comprised of a catalytic ClpX subunit and a proteolytic ClpP subunit. Based on two separate observations, we hypothesized that ClpX may play a leading role in the cellular function of ClpXP. Therefore, we analyzed the effect of ClpX overexpression on a myoblast proteome by quantitative proteomics. ClpX overexpression results in the upregulation of markers of the mitochondria( proteostasis pathway, known as the "mitochondrial unfolded protein response" (UPRmt). Although this pathway is described in detail in Caenorhabditis elegans, it is not clear whether it is conserved in mammals. Therefore, we compared features of the classical nematode UPRmt with our mammalian ClpX-triggered UPRmt dataset. We show that they share the same retrograde mitochondria-to-nucleus signaling pathway that involves the key UPRmt transcription factor CHOP (also known as Ddit3, CEBPZ or GADD153). In conclusion, our data confirm the existence of a mammalian UPRmt that has great similarity to the C elegans pathway. Furthermore, our results illustrate that ClpX overexpression is a good and simple model to study the underlying mechanisms of the UPRmt in mammalian cells.