Mapping of an origin of DNA replication in the promoter of fragile X gene FMR1

An origin of bidirectional DNA replication was mapped to the promoter of the FMR1 gene in human chromosome Xq27.3, which has been linked to the fragile X syndrome. This origin is adjacent to a CpG island and overlaps the site of expansion of the triplet repeat (CGG) at the fragile X instability site, FRAXA. The promoter region of FMR2 in the FRAXE site (approximately 600 kb away, in chromosome band Xq28) also includes an origin of replication, as previously described [Chastain II, P.D., Cohen, S.M., Brylawski, B.P., Cordeiro-Stone, M., Kaufman, D.G., 2006. A late origin of DNA replication in the trinucleotide repeat region of the human FMR2 gene. Cell Cycle 5, 869–872]. FMR1 transcripts were detected in foreskin and male fetal lung fibroblasts, while FMR2 transcripts were not. However, both FMR1 and FMR2 were found to replicate late in S phase (approximately 6 h into the S phase of normal human fibroblasts). The position of the origin of replication relative to the CGG repeat, and perhaps the late replication of these genes, might be important factors in the susceptibility to triplet repeat amplification at the FRAXA and FRAXE sites.