Initiation of DNA replication in eukaryotic chromosomes.

Our understanding of the process by which eukaryotes regulate initiation of DNA replication has made remarkable advances in the past few years, thanks in large part to the explosion of genetic and biochemical information on the budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. At least three major concepts have emerged: 1) The sequence of molecular events that determines when replication begins and how frequently each replication site is used are conserved among most, if not all, eukaryotes; 2) specific replication origins are used in most, if not all, eukaryotes that consist of a flexible modular anatomy; and 3) epigenetic factors such as chromatin structure and nuclear organization determine which of many potential replication origins are used at different stages in animal development. Thus, the current state of our knowledge suggests a simple unifying concept--all eukaryotes utilize the same basic proteins and DNA sequences to initiate replication, but the metazoa can change both the number and locations of replication origins in response to the demands of animal development.