A 67-base-pair segment from the Ori-S region of herpes simplex virus type 1 encodes origin function.
The Ori-S segment of herpes simplex virus type 1 contains a 45-base-pair-long imperfect palindrome with an AT segment at its center. We cloned Ori-S into a poisonless plasmid to investigate the role of the palindromic components in DNA replication. Neither a large insertion within the AT segment nor a deletion of the right side of the palindrome significantly inhibited DNA replication under our conditions of analysis. These findings argue against the necessity for a specific cruciform structure in the initiation of replication. We scanned the entire AT segment with triple tandem-base-pair substitutions to pinpoint essential functional sequences. Only the first 3 base pairs at the left end of the segment are absolutely essential for replication in the presence of the remaining AT sequences.
Deb
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Department of Microbiology, State University of New York, Stony Brook 11794.
Doelberg
M
M
D001483:Base Sequence; D005814:Genes, Viral; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D012045:Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid; D018139:Simplexvirus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D014779:Virus Replication