Evidence that DNA polymerase δ contributes to initiating leading strand DNA replication in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

To investigate nuclear DNA replication enzymology in vivo, we have studied Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains containing a pol2-16 mutation that inactivates the catalytic activities of DNA polymerase ε (Pol ε). Although pol2-16 mutants survive, they present very tiny spore colonies, increased doubling time, larger than normal cells, aberrant nuclei, and rapid acquisition of suppressor mutations. These phenotypes reveal a severe growth defect that is distinct from that of strains that lack only Pol ε proofreading (pol2-4), consistent with the idea that Pol ε is the major leading-strand polymerase used for unstressed DNA replication. Ribonucleotides are incorporated into the pol2-16 genome in patterns consistent with leading-strand replication by Pol δ when Pol ε is absent. More importantly, ribonucleotide distributions at replication origins suggest that in strains encoding all three replicases, Pol δ contributes to initiation of leading-strand replication. We describe two possible models.