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Dbf4-dependent kinases (DDKs) are required for the initiation of DNA replication, their essential targets being the MCM2-7 proteins. We show that, in Xenopus laevis egg extracts and human cells, hyper-phosphorylation of DNA-bound Mcm4, but not phosphorylation of Mcm2, correlates with DNA replication. These phosphorylations are differentially affected by the DDK inhibitors PHA-767491 and XL413. We show that DDK-dependent MCM phosphorylation is reversed by protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) targeted to chromatin by Rif1. Loss of Rif1 increased MCM phosphorylation and the rate of replication initiation and also compromised the ability of cells to block initiation when challenged with replication inhibitors. We also provide evidence that Rif1 can mediate MCM dephosphorylation at replication forks and that the stability of dephosphorylated replisomes strongly depends on Chk1 activity. We propose that both replication initiation and replisome stability depend on MCM phosphorylation, which is maintained by a balance of DDK-dependent phosphorylation and Rif1-mediated dephosphorylation.

Regulation of DNA replication and cell division is essential for tissue growth and maintenance of genomic integrity and is particularly important in tissues that undergo continuous regeneration such as mammary glands. We have previously shown that disruption of the KRAB-domain zinc finger protein Roma/Zfp157 results in hyperproliferation of mammary epithelial cells (MECs) during pregnancy. Here, we delineate the mechanism by which Roma engenders this phenotype. Ablation of Roma in MECs leads to unscheduled proliferation, replication stress, DNA damage, and genomic instability. Furthermore, mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) depleted for Roma exhibit downregulation of p21Cip1 and geminin and have accelerated replication fork velocities, which is accompanied by a high rate of mitotic errors and polyploidy. In contrast, overexpression of Roma in MECs halts cell-cycle progression, whereas siRNA-mediated p21Cip1 knockdown ameliorates, in part, this phenotype. Thus, Roma is an essential regulator of the cell cycle and is required to maintain genomic stability.

During cell division, chromatin alternates between a condensed state to facilitate chromosome segregation and a decondensed form when DNA replicates. In most tissues, S phase and mitosis are separated by defined G1 and G2 gap phases, but early embryogenesis involves rapid oscillations between replication and mitosis. Using Caenorhabditis elegans embryos as a model system, we show that chromosome condensation and condensin II concentration on chromosomal axes require replicated DNA. In addition, we found that, during late telophase, replication initiates on condensed chromosomes and promotes the rapid decondensation of the chromatin. Upon replication initiation, the CDC-45-MCM-GINS (CMG) DNA helicase drives the release of condensin I complexes from chromatin and the activation or displacement of inactive MCM-2–7 complexes, which together with the nucleoporin MEL-28/ELYS tethers condensed chromatin to the nuclear envelope, thereby promoting chromatin decondensation. Our results show how, in an early embryo, the chromosome-condensation cycle is functionally linked with DNA replication.