The protein encoded by this gene is one of the highly conserved mini-chromosome maintenance proteins (MCM) that are involved in the initiation of eukaryotic genome replication. The hexameric protein complex formed by MCM proteins is a key component of the pre-replication complex (pre_RC) and may be involved in the formation of replication forks and in the recruitment of other DNA replication related proteins. This protein is a subunit of the protein complex that consists of MCM2-7. It has been shown to interact directly with MCM5/CDC46. This protein also interacts with and is acetylated by MCM3AP, a chromatin-associated acetyltransferase. The acetylation of this protein inhibits the initiation of DNA replication and cell cycle progression. Two transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2012].