Replication of colicin E1 plasmid DNA in cell extracts. Origin and direction of replication.

The structures of molecules of colicin E1 plasmid DNA that were in the process of being replicated in vitro were examined electron microscopically. Circular molecules containing a loop of approximately 7% of the length of the molecules were the major class of replicating molecules. The location of the loop was determined by treating the molecules with restriction endonuclease EcoR1, which introduced one unique double-strand break in the colicin E1 plasmid DNA molecules. The loops had a specific location with two branch points at approximately 17 and 24% of the molecular length from the endonuclease-sensitive site. Molecules with a larger loop were observed with a preparation labeled with 5-bromodeoxyuridine and enriched for these molecules. One of the branch points in these molecules was located at approximately 17% of the molecular length from the endonuclease-sensitive site independent of the size of the loops. These results indicate that the origin of replication of the plasmid DNA is located within the small loop and the replication proceeds unidirectionally. The molecules that had completed a round of replication had the monomeric twisted circular structure.