This project will determine the biological function of the many GATC sites found within the bacterial origin (oriC) of DNA replication. Our previous studies have shown that 9 to 14 sites, with 8 totally conserved, are found in each of the 6 sequenced bacterial origins. The 6 bacteria whose origins have been cloned in E. coli all methylate these sites, although many bacteria do not. The adenine residues in these sites are methylated by the E. coli dam methylase, and dam mutants are deficient in mismatch repair. The transformation rate specifically of origin plasmids using the bacterial origin into E. coli dam mutants is 30-fold lower than into wildtype cells. GATC sites thus function in initiation, perhaps by a combination of methylation and mismatch repair events.
The Specific Aims of this project include: 1) Determine why origin plasmids transform E. coli dam mutants at a greatly reduced frequency. 2) Isolate and characterize deletion and conditional mutants of the dam locus using transposons, to prove whether the dam methylase is required for cell viability. 3) Use the new oriC-dependent in vitro DNA synthesis system to elucidate the effects of GATC methylation on initiation in origin plasmids. 4) Use directed mutagenesis in vitro of GATC sites to generate deletion and insertion origin mutants specifically in GATC sites, and to generate point mutants in and near the GATC sites. This approach complements the analysis of transformed cells and plasmids from transformed cells in Specific Aim 1. Methylation events are implicated in both DNA repair and in DNA replication in procaryotes, and undermethylation appears to be very important in gene expression in eucaryotes. Loss of regulation of DNA repair, and gene expression, leads to many diseases, including cancer. Thus, this project is directly relevant to the health sciences.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01GM031839-03
Application #
3280209
Study Section
Microbial Physiology and Genetics Subcommittee 2 (MBC)
Project Start
1983-04-01
Project End
1986-11-30
Budget Start
1985-04-01
Budget End
1986-11-30
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
1985
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California San Diego
Department
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
077758407
City
La Jolla
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
92093
Zeller, R W; Griffith, J D; Moore, J G et al. (1995) A multimerizing transcription factor of sea urchin embryos capable of looping DNA. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 92:2989-93
Yee, T W; Smith, D W (1990) Pseudomonas chromosomal replication origins: a bacterial class distinct from Escherichia coli-type origins. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 87:1278-82
Jonczyk, P; Hines, R; Smith, D W (1989) The Escherichia coli dam gene is expressed as a distal gene of a new operon. Mol Gen Genet 217:85-96
Revie, D; Smith, D W; Yee, T W (1988) Kinetic analysis for optimization of DNA ligation reactions. Nucleic Acids Res 16:10301-21
Smith, D W; Garland, A M; Herman, G et al. (1985) Importance of state of methylation of oriC GATC sites in initiation of DNA replication in Escherichia coli. EMBO J 4:1319-26