Review Article

Initiation of eukaryotic DNA replication: conservative or liberal?†

  1. Joseph A. Bogan*,
  2. Darren A. Natale‡,
  3. Melvin L. Depamphilis

Article first published online: 9 JUN 2000

DOI: 10.1002/1097-4652(200008)184:2<139::AID-JCP1>3.0.CO;2-8

Issue

Journal of Cellular Physiology

Journal of Cellular Physiology

Volume 184, Issue 2, pages 139–150, August 2000

Additional Information

How to Cite

Bogan, J. A., Natale, D. A. and Depamphilis, M. L. (2000), Initiation of eukaryotic DNA replication: conservative or liberal?. J. Cell. Physiol., 184: 139–150. doi: 10.1002/1097-4652(200008)184:2<139::AID-JCP1>3.0.CO;2-8

Author Information

  1. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland

  1. ‡

    National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20894

*National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Building 6, Room 416, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-2753

  1. †

    This article is a US Government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 9 JUN 2000
  2. Article first published online: 9 JUN 2000
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 28 FEB 2000
  4. Manuscript Received: 10 FEB 2000

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Abstract

The mechanism for initiation of eukaryotic DNA replication is highly conserved: the proteins required to initiate replication, the sequence of events leading to initiation, and the regulation of initiation are remarkably similar throughout the eukaryotic kingdom. Nevertheless, there is a liberal attitude when it comes to selecting initiation sites. Differences appear to exist in the composition of replication origins and in the way proteins recognize these origins. In fact, some multicellular eukaryotes (the metazoans) can change the number and locations of initiation sites during animal development, revealing that selection of initiation sites depends on epigenetic as well as genetic parameters. Here we have attempted to summarize our understanding of this process, to identify the similarities and differences between single cell and multicellular eukaryotes, and to examine the extent to which origin recognition proteins and replication origins have been conserved among eukaryotes. J. Cell. Physiol. 184:139–150, 2000. Published 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

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