Interaction of Geminivirus Rep Protein with Replication Factor C and Its Potential Role during Geminivirus DNA Replication

Geminivirus DNA replication during the rolling-circle stage depends on the use of a DNA primer, a strategy poorly understood as compared with other eukaryotic viral systems that rely on RNA or protein as primers. Here we have used wheat dwarf virus (WDV) with the aim of elucidating the events leading to recruitment of cell factors at the replication origin. We have identified a novel interaction of WDV Rep, the replication initiation protein, with the large subunit of the wheat replication factor C complex (TmRFC-1). In other systems, the heteropentameric RFC clamp loader complex stimulates loading of DNA polymerase δ to the primer-template. Expression of TmRFC-1 is subjected to cell-cycle regulation, with a peak in early S-phase. We show that WDV Rep stimulates binding of recombinant TmRFC-1 to a model substrate containing a 3′-OH terminus and a WDV Rep-binding site. This was confirmed using cellular fractions enriched for wheat RFC complex, supporting the idea that, in addition to generating a 3′-OH terminus during initiation of DNA replication, WDV Rep could participate in the recruitment of RFC to the newly formed primer. We propose that this pathway may represent an initial event to facilitate the assembly of other replication factors, e.g., PCNA and/or DNA polymerase δ, a model that could also apply to other eukaryotic replicons, such as nanoviruses, circoviruses, and parvoviruses with a similar DNA replication strategy.