Reversion of autonomously replicating sequence mutations in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: creation of a eucaryotic replication origin within procaryotic vector DNA.

To investigate how a defective replicon might acquire replication competence, we have studied the reversion of autonomously replicating sequence (ARS) mutations. By mutagenesis of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae plasmid lacking a functional origin of replication, we have obtained a series of cis-acting mutations which confer ARS activity on the plasmid. The original plasmid contained an ARS element inactivated by point mutation, but surprisingly only 1 of the 10 independent Ars+ revertants obtained shows a back mutation in this element. In the remainder of the revertants, sequence changes in the M13 vector DNA generate new ARSs. In two cases, a single nucleotide change results in an improved match to the ARS consensus, while six other cases show small duplications of vector sequence creating additional matches to the ARS consensus. These results suggest that changes in replication origin distribution may arise de novo by point mutation rather than by transposition of preexisting origin sequences.