Initiation of bidirectional replication at the chromosomal origin is directed by the interaction between helicase and primase

Several protein-protein interactions have been shown to be critical for proper replication fork function in Escherichia coli. These include interactions between the polymerase and the helicase, the helicase and the primase, and the primase and the polymerase. We have studied the influence of these interactions on proper initiation at oriC by using mutant primases defective in their interaction with the helicase and DNA polymerase III holoenzyme lacking the τ subunit so that it will not interact with the helicase. We show here that accurate initiation of bidirectional DNA replication from oriC is dependent on proper placement of the primers for leading strand synthesis and is thus governed primarily by the interaction between the helicase and primase.