Interaction between ORC and Cdt1p of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Origin recognition complex (ORC), a six-protein complex, is the most likely initiator of chromosomal DNA replication in eukaryotes. Throughout the cell cycle, ORC binds to chromatin at origins of DNA replication and functions as a 'landing pad' for the binding of other proteins, including Cdt1p, to form a prereplicative complex. In this study, we used yeast two-hybrid analysis to examine the interaction between Cdt1p and every ORC subunit. We observed potent interaction with Orc6p, and weaker interaction with Orc2p and Orc5p. Coimmunoprecipitation assay confirmed that Cdt1p interacted with Orc6p, as well as with Orc1p and Orc2p. We mapped the C-terminal region, and a middle region of Orc6p (amino acids residues 394-435, and 121-175, respectively), as important for interaction with Cdt1p. Cdt1p was purified to examine its direct interaction with ORC, and its effect on the activity of ORC. Glutathione-S-transferase pull-down analysis revealed that Cdt1p binds directly to ORC. Cdt1p neither bound to origin DNA and ATP nor affected ORC-binding to origin DNA and ATP. These results suggest that interaction of Cdt1p with ORC is involved in the formation of the prereplicative complex, rather than in regulation of the activity of ORC.