Structural biology of replication initiation factor Mcm10.

Minichromosome maintenance protein 10 (Mcm10) is a non-enzymatic replication factor required for proper assembly of the eukaryotic replication fork. Mcm10 interacts with single-stranded and double-stranded DNA, DNA polymerase α and Mcm2-7, and is important for activation of the pre-replicative complex and recruitment of subsequent proteins to the origin at the onset of S-phase. In addition, Mcm10 has recently been implicated in coordination of helicase and polymerase activities during replication fork progression. The nature of Mcm10's involvement in these activities, whether direct or indirect, remains unknown. However, recent biochemical and structural characterization of Mcm10 from multiple organisms has provided insights into how Mcm10 utilizes a modular architecture to act as a replisome scaffold, which helps to define possible roles in origin DNA melting, Pol α recruitment and coordination of enzymatic activities during elongation.