PMID: 19906994 , Related PDB id: 2WVR

Authors:

De Marco V, Gillespie PJ, Li A, Karantzelis N, Christodoulou E, Klompmaker R, van Gerwen S, Fish A, Petoukhov MV, Iliou MS, Lygerou Z, Medema RH, Blow JJ, Svergun DI, Taraviras S, Perrakis A

Title:

Quaternary structure of the human Cdt1-Geminin complex regulates DNA replication licensing.

Journal:

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Nov 24;106(47):19807-12. Epub 2009 Nov 11.

Abstract:

All organisms need to ensure that no DNA segments are rereplicated in a single cell cycle. Eukaryotes achieve this through a process called origin licensing, which involves tight spatiotemporal control of the assembly of prereplicative complexes (pre-RCs) onto chromatin. Cdt1 is a key component and crucial regulator of pre-RC assembly. In higher eukaryotes, timely inhibition of Cdt1 by Geminin is essential to prevent DNA rereplication. Here, we address the mechanism of DNA licensing inhibition by Geminin, by combining X-ray crystallography, small-angle X-ray scattering, and functional studies in Xenopus and mammalian cells. Our findings show that the Cdt1:Geminin complex can exist in two distinct forms, a "permissive" heterotrimer and an "inhibitory" heterohexamer. Specific Cdt1 residues, buried in the heterohexamer, are important for licensing. We postulate that the transition between the heterotrimer and the heterohexamer represents a molecular switch between licensing-competent and licensing-defective states.