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About the Authors:
Jingyun Ji
Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing – review & editing
Affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
Xiaona Tang
Roles Data curation, Investigation, Writing – review & editing
Current address: Department of Biology, Johns Hopkin University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
Affiliation: Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
ORCID logo http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2665-1197
Wen Hu
Roles Funding acquisition, Writing – review & editing
Current address: Key Laboratory of Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Diseases of Ministry of Education, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, China
Affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
Keith A. Maggert
Roles Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Writing – review & editing
Affiliation: Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States of America
ORCID logo http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9291-9481
Yikang S. Rong
Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Project administration, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing
* E-mail: [email protected]
Affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
ORCID logo http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9787-9669
Introduction
Genome replication is of paramount importance to life. Although we have ample understanding of the biochemistry of DNA replication at the molecular level, the complexity of replication regulation is much less understood. In particular, the functions of proteins deemed “ancillary factors” are less understood than those of the catalytic components of the DNA replication machinery. The importance of understanding the functions of these factors is highlighted by the remarkable finding that the yeast Pol δ catalytic enzyme can be functionally replaced in vivo by a viral polymerase provided its C-terminal domain retains efficient interactions with ancillary replication factors [1]. Understanding such regulatory roles is also important for improving human health, as while a loss of replication capacity is often lethal, defective regulation might be more compatible with various disease states including cancer. The importance of studying cellular responses to non-lethal perturbation of DNA replication (or replication stress) is further emphasized by the results from recent cancer etiological studies suggesting that the majority of pathological mutations likely occurred under normal or near normal DNA replication conditions [2, 3].
One of the consequences of perturbing...