Multiple mechanisms for overcoming lethal over‐initiation of DNA replication

What is it about?

DNA replication is highly regulated and coordinated with several cellular processes, including growth. We found that when combined, two Bacillus subtilis mutations that cause replication over-initiation are synthetic lethal, cause severe replication over-initiation, replication fork collapse, and cell death. We found that this synthetic lethal phenotype can be suppressed by either decreasing replication initiation or stimulating replication elongation, thereby preventing replication fork collapse, and highlighting the multiple mechanisms cells can use to modulate DNA replication.

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