Cell cycle-dependent establishment of a late replication program

DNA replication origins in chromosomes of eukaryotes are activated according to a temporal program. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, activation of origins in early S phase appears to be a default state. However, cis-acting elements such as telomeres can delay origin activation until late S phase. Site-specific recombination was used to separate origin from telomere in vivo, thereby demonstrating that the signal for late activation is established between mitosis and START in the subsequent G1 phase. Once set, the signal can persist through the next S phase in the absence of the telomere. Establishment of the temporal program and of initiation competence of origins may be coincident events.