Predicted poxvirus FEN1-like nuclease required for homologous recombination,double-strand break repair and full-size genome formation

Poxviruses encode many if not all of the proteins required for viral genome replication in the cytoplasm of the host cell. In this context, we investigated the function of the vaccinia virus G5 protein because it belongs to the FEN1-like family of nucleases and is conserved in all poxviruses. A vaccinia virus G5 deletion mutant was severely impaired, as the yield of infectious virus was reduced by approximately two orders of magnitude. The mutant virions contained an apparently normal complement of proteins but appeared spherical rather than brick-shaped and contained no detectable DNA. The inability of G5 with substitutions of the predicted catalytic aspartates to complement the deletion mutant suggested that G5 functions as a nuclease during viral DNA replication. Although the amount of viral DNA produced in the absence of G5 was similar to that made by wild-type virus, the mean size was approximately one-fourth of the genome length. Experiments with transfected plasmids showed that G5 was required for double-strand break repair by homologous recombination, suggesting a similar role during vaccinia virus genome replication.     

Insights into eukaryotic DNA priming from the structure and functional interactions of the 4Fe-4S cluster domain of human DNA primase

DNA replication requires priming of DNA templates by enzymes known as primases. Although DNA primase structures are available from archaea and bacteria, the mechanism of DNA priming in higher eukaryotes remains poorly understood in large part due to the absence of the structure of the unique, highly conserved C-terminal regulatory domain of the large subunit (p58C). Here, we present the structure of this domain determined to 1.7-Å resolution by X-ray crystallography. The p58C structure reveals a novel arrangement of an evolutionarily conserved 4Fe-4S cluster buried deeply within the protein core and is not similar to any known protein structure. Analysis of the binding of DNA to p58C by fluorescence anisotropy measurements revealed a strong preference for ss/dsDNA junction substrates. This approach was combined with site-directed mutagenesis to confirm that the binding of DNA occurs to a distinctively basic surface on p58C. A specific interaction of p58C with the C-terminal domain of the intermediate subunit of replication protein A (RPA32C) was identified and characterized by isothermal titration calorimetry and NMR. Restraints from NMR experiments were used to drive computational docking of the two domains and generate a model of the p58C–RPA32C complex. Together, our results explain functional defects in human DNA primase mutants and provide insights into primosome loading on RPA-coated ssDNA and regulation of primase activity.     

Mapping vaccinia virus DNA replication origins at nucleotide level by deep sequencing

Poxviruses reproduce in the host cytoplasm and encode most or all of the enzymes and factors needed for expression and synthesis of their double-stranded DNA genomes. Nevertheless, the mode of poxvirus DNA replication and the nature and location of the replication origins remain unknown. A current but unsubstantiated model posits only leading strand synthesis starting at a nick near one covalently closed end of the genome and continuing around the other end to generate a concatemer that is subsequently resolved into unit genomes. The existence of specific origins has been questioned because any plasmid can replicate in cells infected by vaccinia virus (VACV), the prototype poxvirus. We applied directional deep sequencing of short single-stranded DNA fragments enriched for RNA-primed nascent strands isolated from the cytoplasm of VACV-infected cells to pinpoint replication origins. The origins were identified as the switching points of the fragment directions, which correspond to the transition from continuous to discontinuous DNA synthesis. Origins containing a prominent initiation point mapped to a sequence within the hairpin loop at one end of the VACV genome and to the same sequence within the concatemeric junction of replication intermediates. These findings support a model for poxvirus genome replication that involves leading and lagging strand synthesis and is consistent with the requirements for primase and ligase activities as well as earlier electron microscopic and biochemical studies implicating a replication origin at the end of the VACV genome.Poxviruses comprise a large family of complex enveloped DNA viruses that infect vertebrates and insects and includes the agent responsible for human smallpox (1). In contrast to the nuclear location exploited for genome replication by many other DNA viruses, the 130- to 230-kbp linear double-stranded DNA genomes of poxviruses are synthesized within discrete, specialized regions of the cytoplasm known as virus factories or virosomes. Furthermore, most, if not all, proteins required for DNA replication are virus-encoded (2). Poxvirus genomes, as shown for the prototype species vaccinia virus (VACV), have covalently closed hairpin termini, so that the DNA forms a continuous polynucleotide chain (3). The hairpin is a 104-nucleotide (nt) A+T-rich incompletely base-paired structure that exists in two inverted and complementary forms. As expected for a genome with such covalently closed ends, VACV replicative intermediates are head-to-head or tail-to-tail concatemers (4, 5). The concatemers exist only transiently because they are cleaved by a virus-encoded Holliday junction resolvase into unit length genomes with hairpin ends before incorporation into virus particles (6, 7). Because VACV genomes and concatemers resemble the replicative intermediates of the much smaller parvoviruses, the rolling hairpin model of replication originally proposed for the latter family was extended to poxviruses and has become the current scheme for poxvirus genome replication (2). In the rolling hairpin model, DNA synthesis occurs by strand displacement without discontinuous synthesis of the lagging strand and accordingly implies no role for Okazaki fragments. However, in contrast to parvoviruses, poxviruses have not been shown to encode an endonuclease that introduces a nick to provide a free 3′-OH for priming DNA synthesis. On the other hand, all poxviruses do encode a primase fused to a helicase, which is essential for VACV DNA replication (8). The presence of the essential primase–helicase and the requirement for the viral ligase or the host DNA ligase 1 (9) imply that poxvirus DNA replication is RNA-primed and could involve discontinuous synthesis of the lagging strand.Although not followed up on for nearly 4 decades, early studies on poxvirus DNA replication described putative Okazaki fragments of about 1,000 nt in length and RNA primers on the 5′-ends of newly made chains of VACV DNA (10, 11). Additionally, the specific activity of [³H]thymidine incorporated during a short pulse under conditions of synchronous VACV DNA synthesis was highest in fragments from the ends of the genome, suggesting that replication originated close by (12). In agreement with the apparent terminal localization of origins, variable size double-stranded DNA loops were described at one end of replicating VACV DNA (13). Collectively, these data are compatible with a discontinuous or semidiscontinuous mode of genome replication, with origins located near the termini. Subsequently, however, the existence of specific VACV origins came into question by the demonstration that any circular DNA replicates in VACV or Shope fibroma virus-infected cell cytoplasm, and that replication is not enhanced by inclusion of any VACV DNA sequence (14, 15). Moreover, all VACV proteins known to be required for genome replication are also required for origin-independent plasmid replication (16). In contrast to a circular plasmid, however, efficient replication of a linear minichromosome with covalently closed ends requires a specific 150-bp telomere segment derived from the poxvirus genome, whereas a smaller 65-bp segment is insufficient (17). Those findings are compatible with the location of a replication origin within the terminal 150 bp. However, the latter region contains the consensus resolution sequence that is required for the conversion of the concatemer junction into the covalently closed ends of mature genomes (18, 19). Therefore, the possibility remained that the concatemer resolution sequence is required for the continuation of minichromosome replication, whereas initiation potentially could occur at any position. Thus, the existence of distinct origins of replication near the ends of the VACV genome remained an open question.Genome replication in most cellular life forms is bidirectional and semidiscontinuous, resulting in a switch in the direction of the Okazaki fragments at the origins of replication and transition from continuous to discontinuous synthesis. This asymmetry in the distribution of RNA-primed nascent strands has been used to map initiation points at nucleotide accuracy and to generate high-resolution maps of replication origins (20–22). We used the same basic strategy but applied directional deep sequencing to map the 5′-ends of short nascent fragments to plus or minus strands of the genome instead of hybridization or primer extension and sequencing gels used in the original classical studies. A major advantage of deep sequencing for determination of origins is that no prior information on their location is required, as documented by recent studies with yeast showing that the transition points in the direction of Okazaki fragments identified by directional deep sequencing were in good agreement with the position of replication origins identified by other methods (23–25). In addition, the ability to computationally discriminate viral and host DNA provided by deep sequencing is important for the analysis of virus DNA replication. This next generation sequencing approach provided evidence for VACV replication origins at the nucleotide level.     

Identification of two functionally redundant RNA elements in the coding sequence of poliovirus using computer-generated design

Genomes of RNA viruses contain multiple functional RNA elements required for translation or RNA replication. We use unique approaches to identify functional RNA elements in the coding sequence of poliovirus (PV), a plus strand RNA virus. The general method is to recode large segments of the genome using synonymous codons, such that protein sequences, codon use, and codon pair bias are conserved but the nucleic acid sequence is changed. Such recoding does not affect the growth of PV unless it destroys the sequence/structure of a functional RNA element. Using genetic analyses and a method called "signal location search," we detected two unique functionally redundant RNA elements (α and β), each about 75 nt long and separated by 150 nt, in the 3'-terminal coding sequence of RNA polymerase, 3D(pol). The presence of wild type (WT) α or β was sufficient for the optimal growth of PV, but the alteration of both segments in the same virus yielded very low titers and tiny plaques. The nucleotide sequences and predicted RNA structures of α and β have no apparent resemblance to each other. In α, we narrowed down the functional domain to a 48-nt-long, highly conserved segment. The primary determinant of function in β is a stable and highly conserved hairpin. Reporter constructs showed that the α- and β-segments are required for RNA replication. Recoding offers a unique and effective method to search for unknown functional RNA elements in coding sequences of RNA viruses, particularly if the signals are redundant in function.     

Interaction of herpes simplex virus 1 origin-binding protein with DNA polymerase alpha.

The herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) genome encodes seven polypeptides that are required for its replication. These include a heterodimeric DNA polymerase, a single-strand-DNA-binding protein, a heterotrimeric helicase/primase, and a protein (UL9 protein) that binds specifically to an HSV-1 origin of replication (oris). We demonstrate here that UL9 protein interacts specifically with the 180-kDa catalytic subunit of the cellular DNA polymerase alpha-primase. This interaction can be detected by immunoprecipitation with antibodies directed against either of these proteins, by gel mobility shift of an oris-UL9 protein complex, and by stimulation of DNA polymerase activity by the UL9 protein. These findings suggest that enzymes required for cellular DNA replication also participate in HSV-1 DNA replication.     

Coat as a Dagger: The Use of Capsid Proteins to Perforate Membranes during Non-Enveloped DNA Viruses Trafficking

To get access to the replication site, small non-enveloped DNA viruses have to cross the cell membrane using a limited number of capsid proteins, which also protect the viral genome in the extracellular environment. Most of DNA viruses have to reach the nucleus to replicate. The capsid proteins involved in transmembrane penetration are exposed or released during endosomal trafficking of the virus. Subsequently, the conserved domains of capsid proteins interact with cellular membranes and ensure their efficient permeabilization. This review summarizes our current knowledge concerning the role of capsid proteins of small non-enveloped DNA viruses in intracellular membrane perturbation in the early stages of infection.     

Molecular interactions in the priming complex of bacteriophage T7

The lagging-strand DNA polymerase requires an oligoribonucleotide, synthesized by DNA primase, to initiate the synthesis of an Okazaki fragment. In the replication system of bacteriophage T7 both DNA primase and DNA helicase activities are contained within a single protein, the bifunctional gene 4 protein (gp4). Intermolecular interactions between gp4 and T7 DNA polymerase are crucial for the stabilization of the oligoribonucleotide, its transfer to the polymerase, and its extension by DNA polymerase. We have identified conditions necessary to assemble the T7 priming complex and characterized its biophysical properties using fluorescence anisotropy. In order to reveal molecular interactions that occur during delivery of the oligoribonucleotide to DNA polymerase, we have used four genetically altered gp4 to demonstrate that both the RNA polymerase and the zinc-finger domains of DNA primase are involved in the stabilization of the priming complex and in sequence recognition in the DNA template. We find that the helicase domain of gp4 contributes to the stability of the complex by binding to the ssDNA template. The C-terminal tail of gp4 is not required for complex formation.     

Mouse DNA polymerase alpha-primase terminates and reinitiates DNA synthesis 2-14 nucleotides upstream of C2A1-2(C2-3/T2) sequences on a minute virus of mice DNA template.

The distribution of termination and initiation sites in a 5081-nucleotide minute virus of mice DNA template being copied by a highly purified mouse DNA polymerase alpha-DNA primase complex in the presence of GTP has been examined. The 3'-hydroxyl termini (17 in all) were clustered at six sites that were located 2-14 nucleotides upstream of C2A2C2, C2AC3, or C2A2T2 sequences. When either [alpha-32P]- or [gamma-32P]GTP was included in the DNA polymerase reaction mixtures, nascent DNA became radiolabeled. Analysis of the 32P-labeled material following treatment of the DNA with tobacco acid pyrophosphatase, bacterial alkaline phosphatase, or ribonuclease T1 revealed the presence of oligoribonucleotide chains averaging 5-7 nucleotides long and beginning with 5' GTP residues. Eight presumptive DNA primase initiation sites were located opposite C4 or C5 sequences 3-9 nucleotides upstream of one of the three closely related hexanucleotides C2A2C2, C2AC3, and C2A2T2. RNA-DNA junctions were found 3-10 nucleotides downstream of DNA primase initiation sites. The results indicate that hexanucleotides having the general formula C2A1-2(C2-3/T2), herein referred to as psi, are involved in promoting termination of DNA synthesis and/or de novo initiation of RNA-primed DNA chains by DNA polymerase alpha-primase.     

Structure and function of primase RepB′ encoded by broad-host-range plasmid RSF1010 that replicates exclusively in leading-strand mode

For the initiation of DNA replication, dsDNA is unwound by helicases. Primases then recognize specific sequences on the template DNA strands and synthesize complementary oligonucleotide primers that are elongated by DNA polymerases in leading- and lagging-strand mode. The bacterial plasmid RSF1010 provides a model for the initiation of DNA replication, because it encodes the smallest known primase RepB′ (35.9 kDa), features only 1 single-stranded primase initiation site on each strand (ssiA and ssiB, each 40 nt long with 5′- and 3′-terminal 6 and 13 single-stranded nucleotides, respectively, and nucleotides 7–27 forming a hairpin), and is replicated exclusively in leading strand mode. We present the crystal structure of full-length dumbbell-shaped RepB′ consisting of an N-terminal catalytic domain separated by a long α-helix and tether from the C-terminal helix-bundle domain and the structure of the catalytic domain in a specific complex with the 6 5′-terminal single-stranded nucleotides and the C7–G27 base pair of ssiA, its single-stranded 3′-terminus being deleted. The catalytic domains of RepB′ and the archaeal/eukaryotic family of Pri-type primases share a common fold with conserved catalytic amino acids, but RepB′ lacks the zinc-binding motif typical of the Pri-type primases. According to complementation studies the catalytic domain shows primase activity only in the presence of the helix-bundle domain. Primases that are highly homologous to RepB′ are encoded by broad-host-range IncQ and IncQ-like plasmids that share primase initiation sites ssiA and ssiB and high sequence identity with RSF1010.     

Model system for DNA replication of a plasmid DNA containing the autonomously replicating sequence from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

A negatively supercoiled plasmid DNA containing autonomously replicating sequence (ARS) 1 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae was replicated with the proteins required for simian virus 40 DNA replication. The proteins included simian virus 40 large tumor antigen as a DNA helicase, DNA polymerase alpha.primase, and the multisubunit human single-stranded DNA-binding protein from HeLa cells; DNA gyrase from Escherichia coli, which relaxes positive but not negative supercoils, was included as a "swivelase." DNA replication started from the ARS region, proceeded bidirectionally with the synthesis of leading and lagging strands, and resulted in the synthesis of up to 10% of the input DNA in 1 h. The addition of HeLa DNA topoisomerase I, which relaxes both positive and negative supercoils, to this system inhibited DNA replication, suggesting that negative supercoiling of the template DNA is required for initiation. These results suggest that DNA replication starts from the ARS region where the DNA duplex is unwound by torsional stress; this unwound region can be recognized by a DNA helicase with the assistance of the multisubunit human single-stranded DNA-binding protein.     

DNA sequences required for the in vitro replication of adenovirus DNA.

Initiation of adenovirus (Ad) DNA replication occurs on viral DNA containing a 55-kilodalton (kDa) protein at the 5' terminus of each viral DNA strand and on plasmid DNAs containing the origin of Ad replication but lacking the 55-kDa terminal protein (TP). Initiation of replication proceeds via the synthesis of a covalent complex between an 80-kDa precursor to the TP (pTP) and the 5'-terminal deoxynucleotide, dCMP. Formation of the covalent pTP-dCMP initiation complex with Ad DNA as the template requires the viral-encoded pTP and DNA polymerase and, in the presence of the Ad DNA binding protein, is dependent upon a 47-kDa host protein, nuclear factor I. Initiation of replication with recombinant plasmid templates requires the aforementioned proteins and an additional host protein, factor pL. Deletion mutants of the Ad DNA replication origin contained within the 6.6-kilobase plasmid pLA1 were used to analyze the nucleotide sequences required for the formation and subsequent elongation of the pTP-dCMP initiation complex. The existence of two domains within the first 50 base pairs of the Ad genome, both of which are required for the efficient use of recombinant DNA molecules as templates in an in vitro DNA replication system, was demonstrated. The first domain, consisting of a 10-base-pair "core" sequence located at nucleotide positions 9-18, has been identified tentatively as a binding site for the pTP [ Rijinders , A. W. M., van Bergen, B. G. M., van der Vliet , P. C. & Sussenbach , J. S. (1983) Nucleic Acids Res. 11, 8777-8789]. The second domain, consisting of a 32-base-pair region spanning nucleotides 17-48, was shown to be essential for the binding of nuclear factor I.     

Association of DNA helicase and primase activities with a subassembly of the herpes simplex virus 1 helicase-primase composed of the UL5 and UL52 gene products.

Herpes simplex virus 1 encodes a helicase-primase that is composed of the products of the UL5, UL8, and UL52 genes. A stable subassembly consisting of only the UL5 and UL52 gene products has been purified to near homogeneity from insect cells doubly infected with baculovirus recombinant for these two genes. The purified subassembly has the DNA-dependent ATPase, DNA-dependent GTPase, DNA helicase, and DNA primase activities that are characteristic of the three-subunit holoenzyme. The purified UL8 gene product, although required for viral DNA replication, neither exhibits these enzymatic activities nor stably associates with either the UL5 or the UL52 gene product.     

Role of DNA polymerase alpha and DNA primase in simian virus 40 DNA replication in vitro.

The role of DNA polymerase alpha (pol alpha) and DNA primase has been investigated in the simian virus 40 (SV40) DNA replication system in vitro. Removal of pol alpha and primase activities from crude extracts of HeLa cells or monkey cells by use of an anti-pol alpha immunoaffinity column resulted in the loss of replication activity. The addition of purified pol alpha-primase complex isolated from HeLa cells or monkey cells restored the replication activity of depleted extracts. In contrast, the pol alpha-primase complex isolated from either mouse cells or calf thumus did not. Extracts prepared from mouse cells (a source that does not support replication of SV40) did not replicate SV40 DNA. However, the addition of purified pol alpha-primase complex isolated from HeLa cells activated mouse cell extracts. pol alpha and primase from HeLa cells were extensively purified and separated by a one-step immunoaffinity adsorption and elution procedure. Both activities were required to restore DNA synthesis; the addition of pol alpha or primase alone supported replication poorly. Crude extracts of HeLa cells that were active in SV40 replication catalyzed the synthesis of full-length linear double-stranded (RFIII) DNA in reaction mixtures containing poly(dT)-tailed pBR322 RFIII. Maximal activity was dependent on the addition of oligo(dA), ATP, and creatine phosphate and was totally inhibited by aphidicolin. Since pol alpha alone could not replicate this substrate and since there was no degradation of input DNA, we propose that other enzymatic activities associate with pol alpha, displace the non-template strand, and allow the enzyme to replicate through duplex regions.     

Conservation of structure and function of DNA replication protein A in the trypanosomatid Crithidia fasciculata.

Human replication protein A (RP-A) is a three-subunit protein that is required for simian virus 40 (SV40) replication in vitro. The trypanosome homologue of RP-A has been purified from Crithidia fasciculata. It is a 1:1:1 complex of three polypeptides of 51, 28, and 14 kDa, binds single-stranded DNA via the large subunit, and is localized within the nucleus. C. fasciculata RP-A substitutes for human RP-A in the large tumor antigen-dependent unwinding of the SV40 origin of replication and stimulates both DNA synthesis and DNA priming by human DNA polymerase alpha/primase, but it does not support efficient SV40 DNA replication in vitro. This extraordinary conservation of structure and function between human and trypanosome RP-A suggests that the mechanism of DNA replication, at both the initiation and the elongation level, is conserved in organisms that diverged from the main eukaryotic lineage very early in evolution.     

A general priming system employing only dnaB protein and primase for DNA replication.

Priming of phage phi X174 DNA synthesis is effected simply by dnaB protein and primase when the DNA is not coated by single-strand binding protein (SSB). The five prepriming proteins (n,n',n',i, and dnaC protein) required for priming a SSB-coated phi X174 DNA circle are dispensable. The dnaB protein-primase priming system is also active on uncoated phage G4 and M13 DNAs and on poly(dT). Multiple RNA primers, 10--60 nucleotides long, are transcribed with patterns distinctive for each DNA template. Formation of a stable dnaB protein.DNA complex in the presence of primase and ATP supports the hypothesis that dnaB protein provides a mobile replication promoter signal for primase.     

Isolation and Identification of Inter-Species Enterovirus Recombinant Genomes

Positive-strand RNA virus evolution is partly attributed to the process of recombination. Although common between closely genetically related viruses, such as within species of the Enterovirus genus of the Picornaviridae family, inter-species recombination is rarely observed in nature. Recent studies have shown recombination is a ubiquitous process, resulting in a wide range of recombinant genomes and progeny viruses. While not all recombinant genomes yield infectious progeny virus, their existence and continued evolution during replication have critical implications for the evolution of the virus population. In this study, we utilised an in vitro recombination assay to demonstrate inter-species recombination events between viruses from four enterovirus species, A-D. We show that inter-species recombinant genomes are generated in vitro with polymerase template-switching events occurring within the virus polyprotein coding region. However, these genomes did not yield infectious progeny virus. Analysis and attempted recovery of a constructed recombinant cDNA revealed a restriction in positive-strand but not negative-strand RNA synthesis, indicating a significant block in replication. This study demonstrates the propensity for inter-species recombination at the genome level but suggests that significant sequence plasticity would be required in order to overcome blocks in the virus life cycle and allow for the production of infectious viruses.     

Coordinated DNA Replication by the Bacteriophage T4 Replisome

The T4 bacteriophage encodes eight proteins, which are sufficient to carry out coordinated leading and lagging strand DNA synthesis. These purified proteins have been used to reconstitute DNA synthesis in vitro and are a well-characterized model system. Recent work on the T4 replisome has yielded more detailed insight into the dynamics and coordination of proteins at the replication fork. Since the leading and lagging strands are synthesized in opposite directions, coordination of DNA synthesis as well as priming and unwinding is accomplished by several protein complexes. These protein complexes serve to link catalytic activities and physically tether proteins to the replication fork. Essential to both leading and lagging strand synthesis is the formation of a holoenzyme complex composed of the polymerase and a processivity clamp. The two holoenzymes form a dimer allowing the lagging strand polymerase to be retained within the replisome after completion of each Okazaki fragment. The helicase and primase also form a complex known as the primosome, which unwinds the duplex DNA while also synthesizing primers on the lagging strand. Future studies will likely focus on defining the orientations and architecture of protein complexes at the replication fork.     

Structures of human primase reveal design of nucleotide elongation site and mode of Pol α tethering

Initiation of DNA synthesis in genomic duplication depends on primase, the DNA-dependent RNA polymerase that synthesizes de novo the oligonucleotides that prime DNA replication. Due to the discontinuous nature of DNA replication, primase activity on the lagging strand is required throughout the replication process. In eukaryotic cells, the presence of primase at the replication fork is secured by its physical association with DNA polymerase α (Pol α), which extends the RNA primer with deoxynucleotides. Our knowledge of the mechanism that primes DNA synthesis is very limited, as structural information for the eukaryotic enzyme has proved difficult to obtain. Here, we describe the crystal structure of human primase in heterodimeric form consisting of full-length catalytic subunit and a C-terminally truncated large subunit. We exploit the crystallographic model to define the architecture of its nucleotide elongation site and to show that the small subunit integrates primer initiation and elongation within the same set of functional residues. Furthermore, we define in atomic detail the mode of association of primase to Pol α, the critical interaction that keeps primase tethered to the eukaryotic replisome.It is of paramount importance to cellular life that the genetic blueprint encoded in its DNA is duplicated once, entirely and with utmost accuracy before each round of cell division. DNA duplication is performed by the replisome, a large and dynamic protein assembly that integrates and coordinates the enzymatic activities that are necessary to the task (1). Primase is a DNA-dependent RNA polymerase with an essential role in DNA replication (2, 3): after unwinding of the parental DNA at an origin site, primase assembles on each template strand a short RNA primer that is extended with deoxynucleotides by the replicative DNA polymerase. Given the discontinuous nature of DNA synthesis on the lagging strand, primase is required throughout replication to prime the synthesis of each Okazaki fragment. Despite the critical role of primase in DNA replication, the structural basis for its function is still poorly understood.The requirement for a specialized polymerase that is able to prime DNA synthesis during genomic duplication is universal in all kingdoms of life. The evolutionarily related eukaryotic and archaeal primases are heterodimeric enzymes comprising a small, catalytic subunit (PriS) and a large, regulatory subunit (PriL) (4). Although the primary active site for RNA primer synthesis resides in the PriS subunit, PriL is important for regulation of primase activity and primer transfer to Pol α (5–8). Further insight into PriL function was provided by the observation that a conserved C-terminal Fe-S domain of PriL, PriL-CTD, is essential for initiation of primer synthesis, but dispensable for its subsequent elongation (9–13).Available structural evidence for the catalytic subunit of the eukaryotic primase is limited to eukaryotic-type archaeal PriS, in isolation and bound to PriL (14–16). The structural data demonstrate that the RNA priming activity of primase is encoded within a unique protein fold that is unrelated to that of other DNA or RNA polymerases. The polymerase fold of archaeal/eukaryotic PriS has also been identified in an archaeal replicase with combined primase and polymerase activity (17), a bacterial plasmid primase (18), and the polymerase component of bacterial DNA repair ligase D (19). Conservation of aspartic residues in the PriS sequence and site-directed mutagenesis studies indicate that primase uses metal ion-dependent catalysis for nucleotide polymerization (20). However, the enzymatic requirements of the initiation step, when primase synthesizes the first dinucleotide of the RNA primer, likely require a larger set of residues, whose identity and role in catalysis remain incompletely understood.At the replication fork, primase is present in a constitutive complex with DNA polymerase α (Pol α), which extends the RNA primer with deoxynucleotides and makes the resulting RNA–DNA primer available to the leading- and lagging-strand polymerases, Pols ε and δ, for processive elongation (21). On its turn, the Pol α/primase complex is anchored to the CMG helicase by the conserved Ctf4 replication factor, which acts as a bridge between the GINS component of the helicase and the catalytic subunit of Pol α (22, 23). Thus, a chain of specific protein–protein interfaces links unwinding of the parental strands to priming of nucleic acid synthesis on template DNA.Our knowledge of the structure of the Pol α/primase complex and of the mechanism of RNA–DNA primer synthesis remains largely incomplete. Electron microscopy studies of a recombinant, unliganded version of the yeast Pol α/primase complex have shown that polymerase and primase reside in separate lobes of a flexible dumbbell-shaped particle (24). In agreement with the EM analysis, biochemical evidence shows that the interaction between primase and Pol α is mediated by the conserved C-terminal region of the catalytic subunit of Pol α (23, 24). Furthermore, a conserved motif at the C terminus of the catalytic subunit of Pol α is necessary and sufficient for association with primase in vitro and for tethering primase to the replisome in yeast cells (25).A thorough understanding of the mechanism of DNA priming in eukaryotic replication relies critically on high-resolution structural information about primase and its interaction with Pol α. Such information is currently lacking due to a scarcity of crystallographic data. Here, we report the crystal structure of human primase in heterodimeric form, consisting of PriS and a truncated version of PriL lacking the C-terminal Fe-S domain. We take advantage of the crystallographic model of primase to define the architecture of its nucleotide elongation site, identifying residues that are important for primer initiation and extension. In addition, we describe the cocrystal structure of human primase in complex with the primase-binding motif of Pol α and determine critical primase residues at the Pol α/primase interface that are responsible for tethering the enzyme to the replication fork.