The organization of repeated nucleotide sequences in the replicons of mammalian DNA.

Chinese hamster ovary cells were irradiated with 100-5,000 rads of X-rays and inhibition of the initiation of replicons after irradiation was demonstrated by analyzing nascent DNA sedimented in alkaline sucrose gradients. The renaturation kinetics of DNA synthesized during 60 min of incubation after irradiation was compared with that of DNA synthesized during the 60 min after sham irradiation and with that of parental DNA. Nascent DNA from cells whose replicon initiation was inhibited renatured faster than nascent DNA from control cells in the COt range of repeated nucleotide sequences, suggesting that regions of the replicon not close to origins are enriched in repeated sequences and that regions close to origins are enriched in unique sequences. A class of repeated nucleotide sequences may be involved in the regulation of replicon initiation.