Research OverviewDNA Replication in Archaea
DNA is the genetic material that is responsible for the unique characteristics of every species, including multicellular as well as single-celled microorganisms. The most common type of microorganism, bacteria, has a distant and ancient cousin that was discovered in 1977, and is found in a variety of modern-day environments, including extreme environments such as boiling hot springs. This ancient organism is known as Archaea, and its single cells are similar in many respects to the nucleated cells of multicellular organisms.
Every cell must divide in order to grow and reproduce its own kind. In order to do so, the DNA must be replicated. Since long strands or circles of DNA are packaged into chromosomes, a complex process must take place in order to faithfully replicate the DNA to generate two new sets of chromosomes when cells divide. | Research DescriptionResearch Area: Biochemistry and Molecular Interactions
Research Specialty: DNA Replication Biochemical Characterization of DNA Replication
We wish to understand the mechanism of chromosomal DNA replication. The focus of the laboratory is to elucidate the mechanism of initiation of DNA replication in archaea and other microorganisms using a combination of biochemical, biophysical and structural approaches. Research interests in our laboratory focus on understanding the mechanism of chromosomal DNA replication. We are studying the replication machinery of the archaeaon Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum (Mth) as a model for eukaryotes. Both the initiation and elongation phases of the replication process are currently being investigated using a range of biochemical and molecular biological approaches. The events leading to the initiation of chromosomal DNA replication are well understood in bacteria. In eukaryotes, genetic studies identified many of the proteins needed for the initiation phase, but little is known about their function or biochemical properties. The Mth origin of replication and homologues of the eukaryotic initiation proteins (including the helicase, MCM and the initiation protein, Cdc6) have been identified and purified. We are currently in the process of biochemically characterizing these factors. The other project involves the study of the elongation phase of DNA replication... Complete Information... |
Representative PublicationsKelman, Z., Pietrokovski, S. and Hurwitz, J. (1999). Isolation and characterization of a split B-type DNA polymerase from the archaeon Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum ?H. J. Biol. Chem. 274, 28751-28761.[PDF] Kelman, Z., Lee, J.-K. and Hurwitz, J. (1999). The single minichromosome maintenance protein of Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum ?H contains DNA helicase activity. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 96, 14783-14788.[PDF] Kelman, Z. and Hurwitz, J. (2000). A unique organization of the protein subunits of the DNA polymerase clamp loader in the archaeon Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum ?H. J. Biol. Chem. 275, 7327-7336.[PDF] Complete Listing... |
