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Yeast origin recognition complex is involved in DNA replication and transcriptional silencing

Nature volume 366, pages 87–89 (1993)Cite this article

Abstract

THE HMR E silencer represses transcription of silent mating-type genes in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and contains three redundant regulatory elements A, E and B (ref. 1). The A element contains the 11 base pair consensus sequence that is essential for the firing of DNA replication origins2. A multisubunit protein called the origin recognition complex (ORC) binds specifically to this consensus sequence within yeast origins in vitro3 and in vivo4. We isolated mutants in A element-mediated silencing and report here that one of the genes we identified, RRR1, encodes ORC2, the 72K subunit of ORC. RRR1/ORC2 is an essential gene, but the rrr1-316 allele, which is viable, is defective in the replication of nuclear DNA and the maintenance of the 2-μm episomal DNA. This is, to our knowledge, the first genetic evidence that ORC is involved in DNA replication and silencing.

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Author information

Author notes

  1. Gos Micklem

    Present address: Sanger Centre, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 IRQ, UK

  2. John F. X. Diffley: To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 2QH, UK

    Gos Micklem

  2. ICRF Clare Hall Laboratories, South Mimms, Hertfordshire, EN6 3LD, UK

    Adele Rowley, Janet Harwood & John F. X. Diffley

  3. Research Institute of Molecular Pathology, Dr Bohr Gasse 7, 1030, Vienna, Austria

    Kim Nasmyth

Authors
  1. Gos Micklem
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  2. Adele Rowley
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  3. Janet Harwood
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  4. Kim Nasmyth
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  5. John F. X. Diffley
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Micklem, G., Rowley, A., Harwood, J. et al. Yeast origin recognition complex is involved in DNA replication and transcriptional silencing. Nature 366, 87–89 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1038/366087a0

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