STUDIES WITH ARTIFICIAL EXTRACHROMOSOMAL ELEMENTS IN TRYPANOSOMATIDS - COULD SPECIFICITY IN THE INITIATION OF DNA-REPLICATION BE LINKED TO THAT IN TRANSCRIPTION

Historically, artificial replicons have served as useful models for th e definition of regulatory elements involved in chromosomal replicatio n and transmission in yeast and DNA replication in bacteria. Here, Pra deep Patnaik examines what we have learnt so far from the replicative behavior of various artificial extrachromosomal elements available for trypanosomatids. He highlights the involvement of transcription regul atory elements in virtually every eukaryotic origin of replication ana lysed in detail and, by drawing upon the extensive literature supporti ng a close association between DNA replication and transcription, he s peculates that the nature and organization of origins of replication o n a chromosome also may hold clues to the manner by which an organism regulates gene expression.