Regulation of DNA Replication Licensing

In eukaryotic cells, DNA replication is tightly regulated to occur only once per cell cycle. DNA licensing is a mechanism to guarantee this aim; that is, licensing of replication initiation is permitted during late M phase to G1 phase. The license is canceled by the start of DNA replication. Once DNA replication begins, the license is never given until the next late M phase. The licensing corresponds to the process of assembling components of the pre-replication complex (pre-RC) on the replication origin DNA. This pre-RC is the target of several different regulation systems to prevent rereplication of DNA during a single cell cycle. In this review, the regulation mechanisms mainly in mammals to control assembling components of the pre-RC will be discussed.