In T4 phage, coordinated leading and lagging strand DNA synthesis is carried out by an eight-protein complex termed the replisome. The control of lagging strand DNA synthesis depends on a highly dynamic replisome with several proteins entering and leaving during DNA replication. Here we examine the role of single-stranded binding protein (gp32) in the repetitive cycles of lagging strand synthesis. Removal of the proteininteracting domain of gp32 results in a reduction in the number of primers synthesized and in the efficiency of primer transfer to the polymerase. We find that the primase protein is moderately processive, and this processivity depends on the presence of fulllength gp32 at the replication fork. Surprisingly, we find that an increase in the efficiency of primer transfer to the clamp protein correlates with a decrease in the dissociation rate of the primase from the replisome. These findings result in a revised model of lagging strand DNA synthesis where the primase remains as part of the replisome after each successful cycle of Okazaki fragment synthesis. A delay in primer transfer results in an increased probability of the primase dissociating from the replication fork. The interplay between gp32, primase, clamp, and clamp loader dictates the rate and efficiency of primer synthesis, polymerase recycling, and primer transfer to the polymerase.
The T44 replisome has served as a highly useful model system for studying coupled DNA replication (1). The T4 replisome is made up of eight proteins, all of which have counterparts in more complex organisms such as Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and humans (2). DNA synthesis is carried out in a 5Ј to 3Ј direction by T4 DNA polymerase (gp43), which together with the clamp protein (gp45) makes up the holoenzyme complex (3). The holoenzyme can form through several different routes, all dependent on the activity of the clamp loader protein (gp44/62) (4, 5). The clamp loader is an AAAϩ protein that uses energy derived from ATP hydrolysis to chaperone the holoenzyme assembly process (6). The T4 primosome moves along the lagging strand DNA template in the 5Ј to 3Ј direction and is composed of a hexameric helicase (gp41) that unwinds the duplex DNA and an oligomeric primase (gp61) that synthesizes pentaribonucleotide primers at 5Ј-GTT and 5Ј-GCT sequences to initiate repetitive Okazaki fragment synthesis (7,8). The helicase is loaded onto the lagging strand template by the helicase loader protein (gp59) (9, 10). gp59 plays an additional role as a "gatekeeper" of the replisome by coordinating the assembly of the primosome with the initiation of leading strand DNA synthesis through a direct interaction with the leading strand polymerase (11-13). Finally, gp32 plays a central role in most aspects of DNA metabolism, including DNA replication (14). The gp32 protein coats the ssDNA produced by the primosome and is thought to be involved in the coordination of lagging strand synthesis (15). gp32 is made up of N-terminal, C-terminal, and core domains (16). The N...