Headed by Christian Speck, the DNA Replication Group was established in 2006 with the aim of discovering new mechanisms in the initiation and elongation of DNA replication and understanding the function of replication factors in hetero-chromatin formation and epigenetic memory.

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Group News

VACANCY: Research associate in molecular machines (MED04213)

Reference: MED04213 Date posted: 06 November 2023 Closing date: 03 January 2024 Applications are invited for a full-time postdoctoral research associate position with... read more

Antonia Kefala Stavridi and Anna Schmücker join the Group

Antonia Kefala Stavridi and Anna Schmücker join the Group as postdoctoral fellows.  Welcome, Tonia and Anna! read more

New paper on DDK structure, control and selective activation of the MCM2-7 helicase

Saleh, A., Noguchi, Y., Aramayo, R., Ivanova, M. E., Stevens, K. M., Montoya, A., Sunidhi, S., Carranza, N. L., Skwark,... read more

Shivni Chauhan joins the Group

Shivni Chauhan joins the Group as a MRes student.  Welcome, Shivni! read more

Jennifer Wells joins the Group

Jennifer Wells joins the Group as a postdoctoral fellow.  Welcome, Jennifer! read more

Lucy Edwardes joins the Group

Lucy Edwardes joins the Group as a PhD student. Welcome, Lucy! read more

Matthew Peach joins the Group

Matthew Peach joins the group as a PhD student.  Welcome, Matt! read more

Ki Him Nicholas Chiang joins the Group

Ki Him Nicholas Chiang, a biotechnology undergraduate at Imperial College London, joins the Group as a summer student intern. Welcome,... read more

New paper on the molecular mechanism in the licensing of eukaryotic replication origins

Feng, X., Noguchi, Y., Barbon, M., Stillman, B., Speck, C., Li, H. (2021). The structure of ORC-Cdc6 on an origin... read more

New Talos F200i microscope

The Institute got a brand new Thermo Scientific™ Talos™ F200i S/TEM microscope and said goodbye to the Philips CM200.   A... read more

Josh Tomkins joins the Group

Josh Tomkins joins the Group as a PhD student. Welcome, Josh! read more

New paper on evolution of DNA replication origin and gene silencing

Hu, Y., Tareen, A., Sheu, Y. J., Ireland, W.T ., Speck, C., Li, H., Joshua-Tor, L., Kinney, J. B., Stillman,... read more

Group Milestones

2020

Insights into the structural mechanism of helicase loading onto replication origin DNA by ORC-Cdc6
PNAS 117, 17747-17756

2017

Cryo-EM structure of Mcm2-7 double hexamer on DNA suggests a lagging-strand DNA extrusion model
PNAS 114, E9529-E9538


Elucidation of the structural basis of MCM2-7 replicative helicase loading by ORC-Cdc6 and Cdt1
Nature Structure & Molecular Biology 24, 316-324

2014

Elucidation of the MCM2-7 double-hexamer structure reveals key mechanism in helicase loading and activation
Genes & Development 28, 2291-2303


Identification of the DNA entry gate of the MCM2-7 helicase during helicase loading
Genes & Development 28, 1653-1666

2013

Characterisation of the first structure of an eukaryotic replicative helicase in complex with its loading factors
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 20, 944-951


Identification of a novel ATPase-dependent pre-RC intermediate that is surveyed by a quality control mechanism for genomic stability
Molecular Cell 50, 577-588


Discovery of a pre-RC intermediate that forms in the absence of ATP-hydrolysis and contains one copy of all 18 pre-RC factors
Nucleic Acids Research 41, 3162-3172

2009

Reconstitution of pre-RC formation and discovery of the MCM2-7 double hexamer as a central DNA replication intermediate
PNAS 106, 20240-20245

2007

Identification of an ATPase-dependent mechanism that allows sequence specific recognition of the DNA replication origin
The Journal of Biological Chemistry 282, 11705-11714

2005

Elucidation of the ORC-Cdc6 complex structure and its sequence specific origin binding activity
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 12, 965-971

2001

Identification of key mechanism in initiation of DNA replication in bacteria
The EMBO Journal 20, 1469-1476

1999

Discovery of an ATP dependent mechanism to coordinate initiation of DNA replication with transcriptional regulation in bacteria
The EMBO Journal 18, 6169-6176