Identification of an autonomously replicating sequence near a histone gene of Physarum polycephalum

Fragments of DNA which function as autonomous replication sequences in yeast were cloned from Physarum polycephalum. The ars activity is located in a 1.2 kbp fragment extending 1.5 kbp to 2.7 kbp upstream of the 5' end of a histone H4 gene. Our recent finding that a replication origin is located at a distance less than 3 kbp of this histone gene suggests that the ars element identified coincides with a specialized replication origin and can be used to direct chromosome replication in Physarum polycephalum.