Changes in network topology during the replication of kinetoplast DNA

Kinetoplast DNA of Crithidia fasciculata is a network containing several thousand topologically interlocked DNA minicircles. In the prereplicative Form I network, each of the 5000 minicircles is intact and linked to an average of three neighbors (i.e. the minicircle valence is 3). Replication involves the release of minicircles from the interior of the network, the synthesis of nicked or gapped progeny minicircles and the attachment of the progeny to the network periphery. The ultimate result is a Form II network of 10,000 nicked or gapped minicircles. Our measurements of minicircle valence and density, and the network's surface area, revealed striking changes in network topology during replication. During the S phase, the peripheral newly replicated minicircles have a density twice that of minicircles in Form I networks, which suggests that the valence might be as high as 6. Most of the holes in the central region that occur from the removal of intact minicircles are repaired so that the central density and valence remain the same, as in prereplicative networks. When minicircle replication is complete at the end of the S phase, the isolated network has the surface area of a prereplicative network, despite having twice the number of minicircles. During the G2 phase, the Form II network undergoes a remodeling in which the area doubles and the valence is reduced to 3. Finally, the interruptions in the minicircles are repaired and the double-sized network splits in two.