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The dynamic replicon: adapting to a changing cellular environment
Author(s) -
Herrick John
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
bioessays
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.175
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1521-1878
pISSN - 0265-9247
DOI - 10.1002/bies.200900129
Subject(s) - replicon , biology , licensing factor , pre replication complex , origin recognition complex , dna replication , control of chromosome duplication , dna re replication , eukaryotic dna replication , dna replication factor cdt1 , replication timing , genetics , origin of replication , somatic cell , replication factor c , replication (statistics) , microbiology and biotechnology , genome , gene duplication , minichromosome maintenance , gene , virology
Eukaryotic cells are often exposed to fluctuations in growth conditions as well as endogenous and exogenous stress‐related agents. During development, global patterns of gene transcription change substantially, and these changes are associated with altered patterns of DNA replication and larger distances between replication origins in somatic cells compared to embryos. Conversely, when cells experience difficulties while replicating DNA, the replication program is dramatically altered and distances between replication origins decrease. Recent evidence indicates that each unit of replication, or replicon, can correspond to one or more potential replication origins, but in the case of multiple potential origins, only one is selected to initiate replication of the replicon. How one origin is selected from multiple potential origins and how origin densities are regulated during genome duplication remains unclear. The following review addresses some of the mechanisms involved in regulating replication origins during both a normal and perturbed eukaryotic cell cycle.