InterPro domain: IPR008047

Mcm4 is thought to play a pivotal role in ensuring DNA replication occursonly once per cell cycle. Phosphorylation of Mcm4 dramatically reduces itsaffinity for chromatin - it has been proposed that this cell cycle-dependentphosphorylation is the mechanism that inactivates the MCM complex from lateS phase through mitosis, thus preventing illegitimate DNA replication during that period of the cell cycle [ 1 ].

The MCM2-7 complex consists of six closely related proteins that are highly conserved throughout the eukaryotic kingdom. In eukaryotes, Mcm4 is a component of the MCM2-7 complex (MCM complex), which consists of six sequence-related AAA + type ATPases/helicases that form a hetero-hexameric ring [ 2 ]. MCM2-7 complex is part of the pre-replication complex (pre-RC). In G1 phase, inactive MCM2-7 complex is loaded onto origins of DNA replication [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. During G1-S phase, MCM2-7 complex is activated to unwind the double stranded DNA and plays an important role in DNA replication forks elongation [ 6 ].

The components of the MCM2-7 complex are:

.

• DNA replication licensing factor MCM2, IPR008045
• DNA replication licensing factor MCM3, IPR008046
• DNA replication licensing factor MCM4, IPR008047
• DNA replication licensing factor MCM5, IPR008048
• DNA replication licensing factor MCM6, IPR008049
• DNA replication licensing factor MCM7, IPR008050

1. Phosphorylation of MCM4 by cdc2 protein kinase inhibits the activity of the minichromosome maintenance complex. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 93, 12223-8
2. Structure and mechanism of helicases and nucleic acid translocases. Annu. Rev. Biochem. 76, 23-50
3. Concerted loading of Mcm2-7 double hexamers around DNA during DNA replication origin licensing. Cell 139, 719-30
4. A double-hexameric MCM2-7 complex is loaded onto origin DNA during licensing of eukaryotic DNA replication. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 106, 20240-5
5. Control over DNA replication in time and space. FEBS Lett. 586, 2803-12