Regulatory parameters of DNA replication

One of the fundamental characteristics that help define life is the ability to propagate. At the basest level in the act of propagation is replication of the genetic information as the databank and architectural plans for each particular life form. Thus propagation of life requires the replication of the genome--for the purposes of our review, eukaryotic DNA replication. In this critical review, we have chosen to present the issues and supporting experimental evidence in question-and-answer format. Over the past 3 to 4 years, the research domain of eukaryotic DNA replication has developed a new dynamism. This new force in discovery of the fundamental elements and mechanisms for DNA replication in higher eukaryotes has been propelled by accepted methodologies for mapping (identification) of origins of DNA replication, applicable to mammalian DNA replication, and by the discovery of the origin recognition complex (ORC) in yeast, which has served as a model in the search for the mammalian equivalent.