Composition and dynamics of the eukaryotic replisome: a brief overview

Abstract

High-fidelity chromosomal DNA replication is vital for maintaining the integrity of the genetic material in all forms of cellular life. In eukaryotic cells, around 40-50 distinct conserved polypeptides are essential for chromosome replication, the majority of which are themselves component parts of a series of elaborate molecular machines that comprise the replication apparatus or replisome. How these complexes are assembled, what structures they adopt, how they perform their functions, and how those functions are regulated, are key questions for understanding how genome duplication occurs. Here I present a brief overview of current knowledge of the composition of the replisome and the dynamic molecular events that underlie chromosomal DNA replication in eukaryotic cells.