Bacteriophage Mu DNA replication in vitro

An in vitro system for bacteriophage Mu DNA replication using lysates on cellophane discs is described. Mu replication was monitored by DNA hybridization. Using a thermoinducible Mu lysogen, 30-50% of all DNA synthesis in vitro was Mu-specific. Mu DNA synthesis is semidiscontinuous. In the presence of the DNA ligase inhibitor NMN, about one-half of the DNA was in Okazaki pieces and one-half in large DNA. The Mu Okazaki pieces hybridized mainly to the Mu light strand; the large DNA hybridized mainly to the Mu heavy strand. Okazaki pieces isolated from uninfected cells also hybridized to 2000-3000 bases of host DNA present in Mu-separated strands. However, the host Okazaki pieces hybridize to both Mu strands symmetrically. Most, if not all, host sequences were represented in mature Mu viral DNA. The in vitro data are most consistent with models in which Mu sequences, oriented randomly in both directions in the host chromosome, have recruited a bacterial replisome which traverses the Mu genome from left to right.     

RNA primers in Simian virus 40 DNA replication. II. Distribution of 5' terminal oligoribonucleotides in nascent DNA.

A cell-free simian virus 40 (SV40) DNA replication system served to study the role of RNA in the initiation of nascent DNA chains of less than 200 nucleotides (Okazaki pieces). RNA-DNA covalent linkages were found to copurify with SV40 replicating DNA. These linkages were identified by transfer of a fraction of the ³²P from the 5′ position of a deoxyribonucleotide to 2′(3′)rNMPs upon either alkaline hydrolysis or RNAase T₂ digestion of SV40 replicating [³²P]DNA. Alkaline hydrolysis also exposed 5′ terminal hydroxyl groups in the nascent DNA which were detected as nucleosides after digestion with P1 nuclease. The RNA-DNA covalent linkages resulted from a population of Okazaki pieces containing uniquely sized oligoribonucleotides covalently attached to their 5′ termini (RNA primers). The density of a portion of the Okazaki pieces in potassium iodide gradients corresponded to a content of 90% DNA and 10% RNA, while the remaining Okazaki pieces appeared to contain only DNA. Incubation of Okazaki pieces with a defined length in the presence of either RNAase T₂ or potassium hydroxide converted about one-third to one-half of them intto a second well defined group of DNA chains of greater electrophoretic mobili y in polyacrylamide gels. The increased mobility corresponded to the removalof at least seven-residues. Since alkaline hydrolysis of similar Okazaki pieces revealed that one-third to one-half of them contained rN-³²P-dN linkages, the oligoribonucleotides must be covalently attached to the 5′ ends of nascent DNA chains. Although the significance of two populations of Okazaki pieces, one with and one without RNA primers, is imperfectly understood, a sizable fraction of nascent DNA chains clearly contained RNA primers.Neither the length of the RNA primer nor the number of RNA primers per DNA chain changed significantly with increasing length of Okazaki pieces. Since the frequency of RNA-DNA junctions found in nascent DNA chains greater than 400 nucleotides was similar to that of Okazaki pieces, the complete excision of RNA primers appears to occur after Okazaki pieces are joined to the 5′ end of growing daughter strands.³²P-label transfer analysis of Okazaki pieces recovered from hybrids with isolated HindII + III restriction fragments of SV40 DNA revealed a uniform distribution of rN-P-dN sequences around the replicating DNA molecule. Therefore, most, if not all, RNA primers serve to initiate Okazaki pieces rather than to initiate DNA replication at the origin of the genome. Moreover, the positions of RNA primers are not determined by a specific set of nucleotide sequences.     

Contamination by ATP of commercial dATP samples causing erroneous results in studies of DNA replication in isolated HeLa cell nuclei

dATP at high concentrations was capable of replacing ATP required in the synthesis of Okazaki pieces in isolated HeLa cell nuclei. In addition, the levels of synthesis of high molecular weight DNA were observed to vary depending on the lot of dATP used. Analysis by HPLC revealed that dATP samples of a particular source contained ATP in the range of 0.25-0.43 mol%. With ATP-free dATP, almost no synthesis of high molecular weight DNA was observed, while with impure dATP, a small but significant amount of high molecular weight DNA was synthesized. While this observation confirmed our previous finding that dATP can replace ATP in the synthesis of Okazaki pieces but not in the joining of the pieces, it is also a warning to users of commercial dATP in biochemical and biological studies.     

Two DNA polymerases may be required for synthesis of the lagging DNA strand of simian virus 40

Agents discriminating between DNA polymerase alpha and DNA polymerases of class delta (polymerase delta or epsilon) were used to characterize steps in the synthesis of the lagging DNA strand of simian virus 40 during DNA replication in isolated nuclei. The synthesis of lagging-strand intermediates below 40 nucleotides, termed DNA primers (T. Nethanel, S. Reisfeld, G. Dinter-Gottlieb, and G. Kaufmann, J. Virol. 62:2867-2873, 1988), was selectively inhibited by butylphenyl dGTP or by neutralizing DNA polymerase alpha monoclonal antibodies. The synthesis of longer lagging chains of up to 250 nucleotides (Okazaki pieces) was affected to a lesser extent, possibly indirectly, by these agents. Aphidicolin, which inhibits both alpha- and delta-class enzymes, elicited the opposite pattern: DNA primers accumulated in its presence and were not converted into Okazaki pieces. These and previous data suggest that DNA polymerase alpha primase synthesizes DNA primers, whereas another DNA polymerase, presumably DNA polymerase delta or epsilon, mediates the conversion of DNA primers into Okazaki pieces.     

An Okazaki piece of simian virus 40 may be synthesized by ligation of shorter precursor chains.

It is generally accepted that an aphidicolin-sensitive DNA polymerase elongates the eucaryotic RNA primer (iRNA) into a mature Okazaki piece reaching ca. 200 nucleotides. Yet, as shown here, nascent DNA chains below 40 nucleotides accumulated in simian virus 40 (SV40) DNA replicating in isolated nuclei in the presence of aphidicolin. These products resembled precursors of longer Okazaki pieces synthesized in the absence of aphidicolin (termed here DNA primers) in size distribution, lagging-replication-fork polarity, and content of iRNA. Within the isolated SV40 replicative intermediate, DNA primers could be extended in a reaction catalyzed by the Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I large fragment. This increased their length by an average of 21 deoxyribonucleotide residues, indicating that single-stranded gaps of corresponding length existed 3' to the DNA primers. Incubation with T4 DNA ligase converted most of the extended DNA primers into products resembling long Okazaki pieces. These data led us to propose that the synthesis of an SV40 Okazaki piece could be itself discontinuous and could comprise the following steps: (i) iRNA synthesis by DNA primase, (ii) iRNA extension into a DNA primer by an aphidicolin-resistant activity associated with DNA primase-DNA polymerase alpha, (iii) removal of iRNA moieties between adjacent DNA primers, (iv) "gap filling" between DNA primers by the aphidicolin-sensitive DNA polymerase alpha, and (v) ligation of DNA primer units onto a growing Okazaki piece. Eventually, a mature Okazaki piece is ligated onto a longer nascent DNA chain.     

Inhibition of DNA chain elongation in a purine-auxotrophic mutant of Chinese hamster

DNA synthesis has been examined in a purine-auxotrophic mutant cell line of Chinese hamster (V79 pur 1) under conditions of purine deprivation. At 6 h after the removal of purines from the growth medium, there is a decrease in semiconservative DNA replication. Alkaline velocity centrifugation of the DNA synthesized during a 1-min pulse under conditions of purine deprivation shows that approximately 50% of the newly replicated DNA is the size of Okazaki pieces. These are not incorporated into bulk DNA during a 1-h chase. If the purine supply is restored to the growth medium, these short DNA pieces are jointed to full-sized DNA within 1 h. DNA fiber autoradiolgraphy reveals a retardation in the rate of DNA replication fork movement but no apparent inhibition of initiation of synthesis on replication units within clusters actively engaged in replication. Our results indicate that purine deprivation specifically inhibits elongation of nascent dna chains.     

Lagging strand synthesis in coordinated DNA synthesis by bacteriophage t7 replication proteins

The proteins of bacteriophage T7 DNA replication mediate coordinated leading and lagging strand synthesis on a minicircle template. A distinguishing feature of the coordinated synthesis is the presence of a replication loop containing double and single-stranded DNA with a combined average length of 2600 nucleotides. Lagging strands consist of multiple Okazaki fragments, with an average length of 3000 nucleotides, suggesting that the replication loop dictates the frequency of initiation of Okazaki fragments. The size of Okazaki fragments is not affected by varying the components (T7 DNA polymerase, gene 4 helicase-primase, gene 2.5 single-stranded DNA binding protein, and rNTPs) of the reaction over a relatively wide range. Changes in the size of Okazaki fragments occurs only when leading and lagging strand synthesis is no longer coordinated. The synthesis of each Okazaki fragment is initiated by the synthesis of an RNA primer by the gene 4 primase at specific recognition sites. In the absence of a primase recognition site on the minicircle template no lagging strand synthesis occurs. The size of the Okazaki fragments is not affected by the number of recognition sites on the template.     

Okazaki pieces grow opposite to the replication fork direction during simian virus 40 DNA replication.

Simian virus 40 replicating DNA was pulse labeled with alpha-32P-dATP using an acellular DNA replication system. Nascent DNA chains of less than 200 nucleotides (Okazaki pieces) were then isolated from the denatured replicating DNA by electrosieving through a polyacrylamide gel column. The purified Okazaki pieces were hybridized to separated strands of Bg1(1)+Hpa1 simian virus 40 DNA restriction fragments immobilized on nitrocellulose filters. Only strands with polarity of the DNA replication fork direction hybridized with Okazaki pieces. Hence, Okazaki pieces in simian virus 40 are synthesized against the DNA replication fork direction.     

The role of RNA primer in discontinuous DNA replication in isolated nuclei from HeLa cells

RNA-primed discontinuous DNA synthesis was studied in an in vitro system consisting of washed nuclei from synchronized S-phase HeLa cells. A new technique proved useful for the purification of short nascent fragments of DNA (Okazaki fragments). Mercurated dCTP was substituted for dCTP in the DNA synthesis reaction. Short nascent pieces (4–6 S) of mercurated DNA were found to bind preferentially to sulfhydryl-agarose, and could be eluted with mercaptoethanol. The isolated fragments were assayed for the presence of covalently linked RNA by the spleen exonuclease method described by Kurosawa et al. (Kurosawa, Y., Ogawa, T., Hirose, S., Okazaki, T. and Okazaki, R. (1975) J. Mol. Biol. 96, 653–664). Following a 30 s incubation with [³H]TTP in the absence of added ribonucleotides, approximately 20% of the nascent strands synthesized in washed nuclear preparations had RNA attached. These RNA primers either preexisted in the nuclei or were formed from endogenous ribonucleotides. The 5′ ends of the primers appeared to be largely in a phosphorylated state. In the absence of added ribonucleotides, these RNA-DNA linkages disappeared within 2 min, whereas if ribonucleotides were added, the number of RNA primers increased to 40% and remained at this level for greater than 2 min. To obtain maximal levels of RNA primer, the addition of all three of the ribonucleotides, rCTP, rGTP and rUTP (0.1 mM), as well as high levels of rATP (5 mM) was required. Addition of ribonucleotides also markedly enhanced the amount of nascent DNA fragments synthesized. However, in the absence of added ribonucleotides, after RNA primers had disappeared, nascent DNA fragments were still initiated at a significant rate. These results suggest that RNA primers play an important role in the initiation of Okazaki fragments but that synthesis can also be initiated by alternative mechanisms. An important role for ATP in RNA primer synthesis is suggested.     

Phosphorylation of Okazaki-like DNA fragments in mammalian cells and role of polyamines in the processing of this DNA.

In mammalian cells DNA synthesis is more complicated than in prokaryotes and less well understood. Here we incubated intact mammalian cells (polyamine auxotrophic Chinese hamster ovary cells and primary human fibroblasts) with [32P]orthophosphate and found that, besides high molecular weight DNA, a species of low molecular weight DNA, approximately 450 bp in size, became efficiently labeled. The short DNA was labeled first, and in pulse-chase experiments the labeling was transient. The isolated small DNA fragments (RNase A-treated) were phosphorylated by T4 polynucleotide kinase specific for polynucleotides with 5'-OH ends. A polynucleotide kinase phosphorylating these DNA pieces was also detected in nuclear extracts of the cells. Treatment with alkaline phosphatase removed most of the 32P label incorporated into the small DNA in vivo. Labeling with deoxyribonucleosides did not reveal these fragments. We hypothesize that the low molecular weight DNA represents Okazaki fragments and that the mammalian DNA replication machinery includes a polynucleotide kinase phosphorylating the 5'-termini of Okazaki fragments. This would imply a novel step in DNA synthesis. We also show that depriving cells of polyamines reversibly blocks synthesis of high molecular weight DNA and leads to accumulation of the short DNA pieces, suggesting a role for polyamines in joining the Okazaki fragments.     

Asymmetric Okazaki piece synthesis during replication of simian virus 40 DNA in vivo.

We have pulse-labeled simian virus 40 (SV40)-infected monkey cells with ³H-thymidine (³H-dThd) and have hybridized the viral Okazaki pieces (rapidly labeled short DNA chains found during DNA replication, < 250 nucleotides long) and SV40 “intermediate sized” DNA (longer nascent strands, up to full replicon size) to the separated strands of two SV40 DNA restriction fragments, one lying to either side of the origin of bidirectional DNA replication. As much as 5 fold more Okazaki piece DNA hybridized to one strand than to the other strand of each restriction fragment. The excess Okazaki piece DNA was in the strands oriented 3′ → 5′ away from the replication origin (the strands which are expected to be synthesized discontinuously). Neither the duration of the labeling period nor the temperature of the cells during labeling significantly altered this hybridization asymmetry. With respect to the hybridization of “intermediate sized” DNA, a reverse asymmetry was detected (1.7 fold more radioactivity in the strands oriented 5′ → 3′ away from the origin for a 1 min pulse label at 22°C). The effects on these hybridization asymmetries of preincubating the infected cells with FdUrd prior to pulse-labeling were also determined.We also measured the size of the Okazaki pieces using gel electrophoresis under denaturing conditons after releasing the pieces from the filter-bound DNA strands. The size distribution of the Okazaki piece DNA from each strand was the same (～ 145 nucleotides, weight average; 200–250 nucleotides, maximum size), indicating that the hybridization asymmetry resulted from a difference in the number rather than the size of the pieces in each strand.The simplest interpretation of our results is that SV40 DNA is synthesized semidiscontinuously: the strand with 3′ → 5′ orientation away from the origin is synthesized in short Okazaki pieces which are subsequently joined together, while the strand with 5′ → 3′ orientation away from the origin is synthesized continuously. Some models of two-strand discontinuous synthesis, however, cannot be ruled out.     

Cytarabine-induced destabilization of a model Okazaki fragment.

Cytarabine is a potent anticancer drug that interferes with elongation of the lagging strand at the replication fork during DNA synthesis. The effects of cytarabine substitution on the structural and thermodynamic properties of a model Okazaki fragment were investigated using UV hyperchromicity and 1H NMR spectroscopy to determine how cytarabine alters the physicochemical properties of Okazaki fragments that are intermediates during DNA replication. Two model Okazaki fragments were prepared corresponding to a primary initiation site for DNA replication in the SV40 viral genome. One model Okazaki fragment consisted of five ribo- and seven deoxyribonucleotides on the hybrid strand, together with its complementary (DNA) strand. The second model Okazaki fragment was identical to the first with the exception of cytarabine substitution for deoxycytidine at the third DNA nucleotide of the hybrid strand. Thermodynamic parameters for the duplex to single strand transition for each model Okazaki fragment were calculated from the concentration dependence of the T m at 260 nm. Cytarabine significantly decreased the stability of this model Okazaki fragment, decreasing the melting temperature from 46.8 to 42.4 degrees C at a concentration of 1.33 x 10(-5) M. The free energy for the duplex to single strand transition was 1.2 kcal/mol less favorable for the cytarabine-substituted Okazaki fragment relative to the control at 37 degrees C. Analysis of the temperature dependence of the imino1H resonances for the two duplexes demonstrated that cytarabine specifically destabilized the DNA:DNA duplex portion of the model Okazaki fragment. These results are consistent with inhibition of lagging strand DNA synthesis by cytarabine substitution resulting from destabilization of the DNA:DNA duplex portion of Okazaki fragments in vivo .     

Effect of drugs on deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis in isolated mammalian cell nuclei. Comparison with partially purified deoxyribonucleic acid polymerases.

In order to ascertain the identity of the DNA-dependent DNA polymerase responsible for the observed DNA synthesis in nuclei isolated from baby-hamster kidney (BHK-21/C13) cells a comparative study was carried out on the effects of some drugs, reported to influence DNA synthesis, on DNA synthesis catalysed by these nuclei and by partially purified DNA polymerase-alpha and -beta. In all cases DNA synthesis by isolated nuclei and polymerase-alpha was inhibited to similar extents by N-ethylmaleimide, p-hydroxymercuribenzoate, novobiocin, heparin and phosphonoacetic acid; polymerase-beta was much less affected by these compounds. Ethidium bromide inhibited all DNA synthesis to similar extents, although at low concentrations (about 2 microgram/ml) synthesis in isolated nuclei was stimulated. The results are discussed in relation to the proposal that DNA polymerase-alpha catalyses the covalent extension of Okazaki fragments that these nuclei carry out in vitro.     

Effects of novobiocin on adenovirus DNA synthesis and encapsidation.

Novobiocin, an inhibitor of DNA gyrase implicated in bacterial and likely mammalian, chromosome replication, inhibited the initiation, but not the elongation of human adenovirus DNA replicative synthesis. The inhibition was partially reversible, even in the presence of protein synthesis inhibitor. Novobiocin inhibited also the encapsidation of viral DNA, and this effect was independent of the block in DNA replication. It was suggested that novobiocin acted on two different functions, one involved in viral DNA replication initiation, the other in DNA encapsidation.     

Endo R DpnI restriction of Escherichia coli DNA synthesized in vitro. Evidence that the ends of Okazaki pieces are determined by template deoxynucleotide sequence.

A restriction enzyme from Diplococcus pneumoniae, Endo R DpnI, cuts methylated DNA on cellophane discs into pieces which are about the same size as Okazaki pieces.DNA was synthesized in vitro on cellophane discs in the presence of β-nicotinamide mononucleotide to prevent joining of Okazaki pieces. This DNA was methylated by the addition of S-adenosyl methionine to the reaction mixture. When Endo R DpnI was used to cut methylated DNA made in vitro in the presence of S-adenosyl methionine and β-nicotinamide mononucleotide, no decrease in sedimentation of the Okazaki pieces was observed. Control experiments demonstrated that Okazaki pieces were methylated in vitro and that Endo R DpnI was capable of cutting double-stranded DNA containing methylated Okazaki pieces, that is, synthesized in β-nicotinamide mononucleotide and S-adenosyl methionine.These results are interpreted to mean that the ends of Okazaki pieces are non-randomly distributed with respect to 6-methyl adenine residues.     

Application of hypoxia-induced shut down of replicon initiation to the analysis of replication intermediates in Ehrlich ascites cells

Cultured Ehrlich ascites cells were subjected to hypoxic conditions for about 2 h, then reaerated or allowed to remain hypoxic. The newly formed DNA of hypoxic or reaerated cells was labeled with [3H]thymidine using different pulse and pulse/pulse-chase protocols. The chain length distribution of the labeled DNA molecules was analysed by sedimentation after lysing the cells on the top of alkaline sucrose gradients. The results indicated that the hypoxia effectively and reversibly suppressed the initiation of new replication units. Initiation, growth and integration of Okazaki pieces into active replicons was not noticeably affected. In marked contrast to aerobic cells, the use of hypoxic cells allows the separation of Okazaki pieces as a distinct class of pulse labeled short DNA chains. Short daughter DNA of very recently initiated replicons did not interfere at pulse times shorter than 4 min. For examination of the newly initiated replicons it seems favourable to trigger a burst of initiations by reaeration.     

Assembly of simian virus 40 Okazaki pieces from DNA primers is reversibly arrested by ATP depletion.

We have previously proposed that DNA polymerase alpha-primase provides short RNA-DNA precursors below 40 nucleotides (DNA primers), several of which assemble into an Okazaki piece after intervening RNA has been removed and the gaps have been filled by DNA polymerase delta (or epsilon) (T. Nethanel, S. Reisfeld, G. Dinter-Gottlieb, and G. Kaufmann, J. Virol. 62:2867-2873, 1988; T. Nethanel and G. Kaufmann, J. Virol. 64:5912-5918, 1990). In this report, we confirm and extend these conclusions by studying the effects of deoxynucleoside triphosphate (dNTP) concentrations and the presence of ATP on the occurrence, dynamics, and configuration of DNA primers in simian virus 40 replicative intermediate DNA. We first show that these parameters are not significantly affected by a 10-fold increase in dNTP precursor concentrations. We then demonstrate that Okazaki piece synthesis can be arrested at the level of DNA primers by ATP depletion. The arrested DNA primers faced short gaps of 10 to 20 nucleotides at their 3' ends and were progressively chased into Okazaki pieces when ATP was restored. ATP could not be substituted in this process by adenosine-5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) or adenyl-imidodiphosphate. The chase was interrupted by aphidicolin but not by butylphenyl-dGTP. The results implicate an ATP-requiring factor in the switch between the two DNA polymerases engaged in Okazaki piece synthesis. They also suggest that the replication fork advances by small, DNA primer-size increments.     

Simian Virus 40 DNA Replication in Isolated Replicating Viral Chromosomes

Three subnuclear systems capable of continuing many aspects of simian virus 40 (SV40) DNA replication were characterized in an effort to define the minimum requirements for "normal" DNA replication in vitro. Nuclear extracts, prepared by incubating nuclei isolated from SV40-infected CV-1 cells in a hypotonic buffer to release both SV40 replicating and mature chromosomes, were either centrifuged to separate the total SV40 nucleoprotein complexes from the soluble nucleosol or fractionated on sucrose gradients to provide purified SV40 replicating chromosomes. With nuclear extracts, CV-1 cell cytosol stimulated total DNA synthesis, elongation of nascent DNA chains, maturation and joining of "Okazaki pieces," and the conversion of replicating viral DNA into covalently closed, superhelical DNA. Nucleoprotein complexes responded similarly, but frequently the response was reduced by 10 to 30%. In contrast, isolated replicating chromosomes in the presence of cytosol appeared only to complete and join Okazaki pieces already present on the template; without cytosol, Okazaki pieces incorporated alpha-(32)P-labeled deoxynucleoside triphosphates but failed to join. Consequently, replicating chromosomes failed to extensively continue nascent DNA chain growth, and the conversion of viral replicating DNA into mature DNA was seven to eight times less than that observed in nuclear extracts. Addition of neither cytosol nor nucleosol corrected this problem. In the presence of cytosol, nonspecific endonuclease activity was not a problem in any of the three in vitro systems. Extensive purification of replicating chromosomes was limited by three as yet irreversible phenomena. First, replicating chromosomes isolated in a low-ionic-strength medium had a limited capability to continue DNA synthesis. Second, diluting either nuclear extracts or replicating chromosomes before incubation in vitro stimulated total DNA synthesis but was accompanied by the simultaneous appearance of small-molecular-weight nascent DNA not associated with intact viral DNA templates and a decrease in the synthesis of covalently closed viral DNA. Although this second phenomenon appeared similar to the first, template concentration alone could not account for the failure of purified replicating chromosomes to yield covalently closed DNA. Finally, preparation of nucleoprotein complexes in increasing concentrations of NaCl progressively decreased their ability to continue DNA replication. Exposure to 0.3 M NaCl removed one or more factors required for DNA synthesis which could be replaced by addition of cytosol. However, higher NaCl concentrations yielded nucleoprotein complexes that had relatively no endogenous DNA synthesis activity and that no longer responded to cytosol. These data demonstrate that continuation of endogenous DNA replication in vitro requires both the soluble cytosol fraction and a complex nucleoprotein template whose ability to continue DNA synthesis depends on its concentration and ionic environment during its preparation.     

Coordinated leading- and lagging-strand synthesis at the Escherichia coli DNA replication fork. II. Frequency of primer synthesis and efficiency of primer utilization control Okazaki fragment size.

To investigate the role of the priming apparatus at the replication fork in determining Okazaki fragment size, the products of primer synthesis generated in vitro during rolling-circle DNA replication catalyzed by the DNA polymerase III holoenzyme, the single-stranded DNA binding protein, and the primosome on a tailed form II DNA template were isolated and characterized. The abundance of oligoribonucleotide primers and the incidence of covalent DNA chain extension of the primer population was measured under different reaction conditions known to affect the size of the products of lagging-strand DNA synthesis. These analyses demonstrated that the factors affecting Okazaki fragment length could be distinguished by either their effect on the frequency of primer synthesis or by their influence on the efficiency of initiation of DNA synthesis from primer termini. Primase and the ribonucleoside triphosphates were found to stimulate primer synthesis. The observed trend toward smaller fragment size as the concentration of these effectors was raised was apparently a direct consequence of the increased frequency of primer synthesis. The beta subunit of the DNA polymerase III holoenzyme and the deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates did not alter the priming frequency; instead, the concentration of these factors influenced the ability of the lagging-strand DNA polymerase to efficiently utilize primers to initiate DNA synthesis. Maximum utilization of the available primers correlated with the lowest mean value of Okazaki fragment length. These data were used to draw general conclusions concerning the temporal order of enzymatic steps that operate during a cycle of Okazaki fragment synthesis on the lagging-strand DNA template.