Genome-wide EMSA (gEMSA) of ORC and yeast genomic DNA

Eukaryotic DNA replication origins are selected in G1-phase when the origin recognition complex (ORC) binds chromosomal DNA, triggering a series of molecular events that culminate in the initiation of DNA replication (a.k.a. origin firing) during S-phase. Each chromosome requires multiple origins for its duplication, and each origin fires at a characteristic time during S-phase, creating a cell-type specific genome replication pattern with relevance to differentiation, genome stability and evolution. It is unclear whether ORC-origin interactions are relevant to the regulation of origin activation time. Here we applied a novel genome-wide strategy to classify origins in the model eukaryote Saccharomyces cerevisiae based on the types of molecular interactions used for ORC-origin binding. Specifically, origins were classified as DNA-dependent when the strength of ORC-origin binding in vivo could be explained by the affinity of ORC for origin DNA in vitro, and, conversely, as ‘chromatin-dependent’ when the ORC-DNA interaction in vitro was insufficient to explain the strength of ORC-origin binding in vivo. The two classes of origins were distinct in terms of local nucleosome architecture and dependence on origin-flanking sequences in plasmid replication assays, consistent with local features of chromatin promoting ORC binding at ‘chromatin-dependent’ origins. Importantly, origins that fired in late S-phase, but not those that fired in early S-phase, showed a significant dependence on the ORC-origin DNA interaction for ORC binding in vivo. Therefore we demonstrate for the first time a connection between ORC-origin binding mechanisms and the regulation of origin activation time at a genome-wide level. Analysis of ORC genomic DNA binding across three ORC concentrations.