Identification and purification of a protein that binds the yeast ARS consensus sequence.

We have identified a yeast protein that binds specifically to the ARS consensus sequence. By two-step chromatography we have purified the factor to apparent homogeneity as a single polypeptide of 67 kd. The purified ARS consensus-binding protein (ACBP) recognizes the ARS consensus of the four genomic ARS elements tested, binding preferentially to the T-rich single strand. Point mutations in the consensus significantly reduce the affinity of the single-strand binding. At the histone H4 ARS, ACBP recognizes both the perfect ARS consensus and a 9/11 match 3' of it. These two binding sites correlate with the boundaries of the minimal functional H4 ARS element. A similar configuration of binding sites is found at ARS1. We propose a model implicating this factor in an early step of the initiation of DNA replication.