Genome-wide distribution of DNA replication origins at A+T-rich islands in Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

ABSTRACT: Genome-wide analysis of replication dynamics requires the previous identification of DNA replication origins (ORIs). However, variability among the ORIs makes it difficult to predict their distribution across the genome on the basis of their sequence. We report here that ORIs in Schizosaccharomyces pombe coincide with discrete chromosomal A+T-rich islands of up to 1 kb long that are characterized by a distinctive A+T content that clearly differentiates them from the rest of the genome. Genome-wide analysis has enabled us to identify 384 of these regions, which predicts the position of most ORIs in the genome, as shown by functional replication analyses. A+T-rich islands occur at the mating locus, centromeres and subtelomeric regions at a density that is approximately fourfold higher than e

SUBMITTER: Segurado M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1326378 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature