DNSN-1 recruits GINS for CMG helicase assembly during DNA replication initiation in C. elegans

Assembly of the CDC45-MCM-GINS helicase is the key regulated step during eukaryotic DNA replication initiation. Until now, it was unclear whether metazoa require additional factors not present in yeast. Here we show that Caenorhabditis elegans DNSN-1, the orthologue of human DONSON, functions during helicase assembly in a complex with MUS-101/TOPBP1. DNSN-1 is required to recruit the GINS complex to chromatin, and a cryo-electron microscopy structure indicates that DNSN-1 positions GINS on the MCM-2-7 helicase motor, by direct binding of DNSN-1 to GINS and MCM-3, using interfaces that we show are important for initiation and essential for viability. These findings identify DNSN-1 as a missing link in our understanding of DNA replication initiation, suggesting that initiation defects underlie the human disease syndrome resulting from DONSON mutations.