Coordinating DNA Replication To Produce One Copy of the Genome Requires Genes That Act in Ubiquitin Metabolism

Abstract

We have developed a genetic screen of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to identify genes that act to coordinate DNA replication so that each part of the genome is copied exactly once per cell cycle. A mutant was recovered in this screen that accumulates aberrantly high DNA contents but does not complete a second round of synthesis. The mutation principally responsible for this phenotype is in the DOA4 gene, which encodes a ubiquitin hydrolase, one of several yeast genes that encode enzymes that can remove the signalling polypeptide ubiquitin from its covalently linked conjugated forms. DOA4 is nonessential, and deleting this gene causes uncoordinated replication. Overreplication does not occur in cells with limiting amounts of Cdc7 protein kinase, suggesting that entry into S phase is required for this phenotype. The DNA formed in doa4 mutants is not highly unusual in the sense that mitotic recombination rates are normal, implying that a high level of repair is not induced. The temperature sensitivity of doa4 mutations is partially suppressed by extra copies of the polyubiquitin gene UBI4, but overreplication still occurs in the presence of this suppressor. Mutations in DOA4 cause loss of the free ubiquitin pool in cells under heat stress conditions, and extra copies of UBI4 restore this pool without restoring coordination of replication. We conclude that a ubiquitin-mediated signalling event directly involving the ubiquitin hydrolase encoded by DOA4 is needed in S. cerevisiae to prevent uncoordinated DNA replication.