The 3D structure of the ternary complex, consisting of DNA ligase, the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) clamp, and DNA, was investigated by single-particle analysis. This report presents the structural view, where the crescent-shaped DNA ligase with 3 distinct domains surrounds the central DNA duplex, encircled by the closed PCNA ring, thus forming a double-layer structure with dual contacts between the 2 proteins. The relative orientations of the DNA ligase domains, which remarkably differ from those of the known crystal structures, suggest that a large domain rearrangement occurs upon ternary complex formation. A second contact was found between the PCNA ring and the middle adenylation domain of the DNA ligase. Notably, the map revealed a substantial DNA tilt from the PCNA ring axis. This structure allows us to propose a switching mechanism for the replication factors operating on the PCNA ring.DNA replication ͉ electron microscopy ͉ single-particle analysis ͉ DNA sliding clamp ͉ protein-DNA complex D NA ligase plays essential roles in various DNA transactions, such as joining Okazaki fragments in DNA replication and nick-sealing at the final step of several DNA repair pathways, including nucleotide excision repair, base excision repair, and mismatch repair (1, 2). The enzyme catalyzes phosphodiester bond formation at the nicks generated within dsDNA, through the well-conserved 3-step reaction using either NAD ϩ or ATP as a cofactor (3). At the first step, the DNA ligase interacts with the nucleotide cofactor to form a covalent ligase-nucleoside monophosphate. At the second step, the bound AMP is transferred to the 5Ј terminus of the DNA, and finally, a phosphodiester bond is formed by a reaction between the 5Ј-DNAadenylate and the 3Ј-hydroxy group.To date, 3 crystal structures of ATP-dependent eukaryotictype DNA ligases have been reported. The structures of the 2 archaeal DNA ligases from Pyrococcus furiosus (PfuLig) and Sulfolobus solfataricus (SsoLig) were determined in the closed (4) and extended forms (5), respectively. The structure of the human DNA ligase 1 (hLigI) in complex with DNA (6) revealed that the enzyme entirely encircles the nicked DNA. All of these DNA ligases are in common composed of 3 domains, designated as the DNA binding domain (DBD), the adenylation domain (AdD), and the OB-fold domain (OBD), in the sequences from the N to C termini. Although the internal architectures of these domains are strikingly similar among the 3 DNA ligases, their relative domain orientations within each enzyme are quite different. Similar to many other replication factors, such as DNA polymerase and Flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1), DNA ligases exhibit the full activity by binding to proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). A small-angle X-ray scattering analysis revealed that the morphology of SsoLig in complex with PCNA coincides with the extended structure of SsoLig alone (5). However, the structure of the ternary Lig-PCNA-DNA complex remains unknown.PCNA interacts with various protein factors to contr...