Functional organization of the simian virus 40 origin of DNA replication.

To define the sequence elements involved in initiation of DNA synthesis at the simian virus 40 origin of replication, we determined the relative replication efficiencies in vitro and in vivo of templates containing a variety of mutations within the origin region. Replication of the mutants in vitro was assayed by the cell-free DNA replication system that we recently described (J.J. Li and T.J. Kelly, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 81:6973-6977, 1984; J.J. Li and T.J. Kelly, Mol. Cell. Biol. 5:1238-1246, 1985), and replication in vivo was assayed after transfection of the mutant templates into COS-1 cells. The minimal origin of replication defined by both assays included a 15-base-pair (bp) imperfect inverted repeat, a 27-bp perfect inverted repeat, and a 17-bp A/T-rich region. T-antigen binding site I was not required for DNA replication, but its presence increased replication efficiency severalfold both in vitro and in vivo. Although SP1 binding sites and enhancers had little or no effect on replication in vitro, the presence of either element markedly increased replication in vivo. Thus, the biological role of these elements is not restricted to stimulating transcription but may be more general.