Abstract Eukaryotic genomes are compacted into loops and topologically associating domains (TADs), which contribute to transcription, recombination and genomic stability. Cohesin extrudes DNA into loops that are thought to lengthen until CTCF boundaries are encountered. Little is known about whether loop extrusion is impeded by DNA-bound macromolecular machines. We demonstrate that the replicative helicase MCM is a barrier that restricts loop extrusion in G1 phase. Single-nucleus Hi-C of one-cell embryos revealed that MCM loading reduces CTCF-anchored loops and decreases TAD boundary insulation, suggesting loop extrusion is impeded before reaching CTCF. Single-molecule imaging shows that MCMs are physical barriers that frequently constrain cohesin translocation in vitro. Simulations are consistent with MCMs as abundant, random barriers. We conclude that distinct loop extrusion barriers contribute to shaping 3D genomes. One Sentence Summary MCM complexes are obstacles that impede the formation of CTCF-anchored loops.

MCM complexes are barriers that restrict cohesin-mediated loop extrusion