Synthesis and maturation of Okazaki Fragments is an incessant and highly efficient metabolic process completing the synthesis of the lagging strands at replication forks during S phase. Accurate Okazaki fragment maturation (OFM) is crucial to maintain genome integrity and, therefore, cell survival in all living organisms. In eukaryotes, OFM involves the consecutive action of DNA polymerase Pol ∂, 5’ Flap endonuclease Fen1 and DNA ligase I, and constitutes the best example of a sequential process coordinated by the sliding clamp PCNA. For OFM to occur efficiently, cooperation of these enzymes with PCNA must be highly regulated. Here, we present evidence of a role for the PCNA-deubiquitylase Ubp10 in the maturation of Okazaki fragments in the budding yeastSaccharomyces cerevisiae. We show that Ubp10 associates with lagging-strand DNA synthesis machineries on replicating chromatin to ensure timely ligation of Okazaki fragments by promoting an Elg1ATAD5-independent PCNA unloading mechanism.This document was written without the use of AI.