DnaA-oriC complex

GO:1990101 · Other · Nucleoprotein complex · Proposed

A protein-DNA complex containing the initiator protein DnaA bound to high-affinity recognition sites in the unique origin of replication, oriC. DnaA-oriC binding is the first step in assembly of a bacterial pre-replicative complex (pre-RC) and is responsible for the timely initiation of replication once per cell cycle. [GO:1990101]

Synonyms: DnaA-DNA complex

UniProt location names: UniProt Consortium, CC BY 4.0. Reference label and route sources.

Components

Component	Type	Part of / acts on	Grounding	Genes	Stoichiometry	Essential	Role
DnaA replication initiation protein	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	dnaA		UNKNOWN	Initiator protein bound to high-affinity recognition sites in oriC. `GO:1990101` GO:1990101 defines the DnaA-oriC complex as containing initiator protein DnaA. `PMID:19833870` Miller et al. 2009 analyzed DnaA binding to high- and lower-affinity sites in the E. coli oriC origin.
oriC origin DNA	Dna	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)			UNKNOWN	Unique chromosomal replication-origin DNA carrying the high-affinity DnaA recognition sites. `GO:1990101` GO:1990101 defines the complex around DnaA bound to high-affinity recognition sites in oriC. `PMID:19833870` Miller et al. 2009 mutated E. coli high-affinity DnaA recognition sites in oriC and assayed DnaA binding at that origin.

Taxonomic distribution

NCBITaxon:562 Escherichia coli — COMMON: Miller et al. 2009 studied the high-affinity DnaA-oriC complex and bacterial pre-RC assembly at the E. coli origin. [PMID:19833870]

Canonical examples

NCBITaxon:562 Escherichia coli — Miller et al. 2009 examined DnaA occupation of high- and lower-affinity DnaA recognition sites in E. coli oriC. [PMID:19833870]

Functions

DNA replication initiation GO:0006270 — The DnaA-oriC complex participates in the timely initiation of bacterial chromosomal replication by seeding assembly of the pre-replicative complex at oriC.
- GO:1990101 GO:1990101 defines DnaA-oriC binding as the first step in bacterial pre-RC assembly and as responsible for timely replication initiation.
- GO:0006270 GO:0006270 is the Gene Ontology biological-process term for DNA replication initiation.
- PMID:19833870 Miller et al. 2009 tested how E. coli oriC high-affinity DnaA sites assist additional DnaA loading during pre-RC assembly.

Mechanism graphs

DnaA-oriC seeds initiation (FUNCTION)

DnaA bound to high-affinity oriC recognition sites forms a nucleoprotein complex that seeds bacterial pre-RC assembly during DNA replication initiation.

Subject	Predicate	Object	Evidence
DnaA replication initiation protein	contributes to	DnaA-oriC complex	`GO:1990101` GO:1990101 defines the complex as containing initiator protein DnaA.
oriC origin DNA	scaffolds	DnaA-oriC complex	`GO:1990101` GO:1990101 defines the complex around DnaA bound to high-affinity oriC sites. `PMID:19833870` Miller et al. 2009 studied DnaA binding to the E. coli oriC origin.
DnaA-oriC complex	supports	DNA replication initiation	`GO:1990101` GO:1990101 defines DnaA-oriC binding as the first step in bacterial pre-RC assembly. `GO:0006270` GO:0006270 is the DNA replication initiation process term.

Discussions

CURATION_TODO (OPEN): Resolve exact source-neutral DnaA and oriC origin DNA groundings for the DnaA-oriC complex. GO:1990101 defines the DnaA-oriC complex around DnaA bound to high-affinity oriC recognition sites. Exact source-neutral InterPro, Pfam, NCBIfam, UniProt family or SO sequence-feature CURIEs for these components need narrower curation before the labels can be grounded.
INTERPRETATION (RESOLVED): Leave DiaA and DnaB-DnaC out of the scoped GO:1990101 DnaA-oriC complex. GO:1990101 denotes DnaA bound to high-affinity oriC recognition sites. GO models the DiaA-containing complex separately as GO:1990102, and DnaB-DnaC helicase loading belongs to later pre-primosome assemblies.

Evidence

GO:1990101 Gene Ontology cellular-component term for the DnaA-oriC complex and its broad DnaA-DNA complex synonym.
GO:1990077 OLS reports GO:1990077 primosome complex as the direct GO:1990101 is-a parent.
GO:1990102 Gene Ontology cellular-component term for the separately scoped DnaA-DiaA complex.
GO:1990100 Gene Ontology cellular-component term for the separate DnaB-DnaC helicase-loading complex.
GO:0006270 Gene Ontology biological-process term for DNA replication initiation.
PMID:19833870 PubMed identifier for Miller et al. 2009, the PNAS paper cited by GO:1990101.
DOI:10.1073/pnas.0909472106 DOI for Miller et al. 2009, 'Bacterial origin recognition complexes direct assembly of higher-order DnaA oligomeric structures', as reported by PubMed.

Curation history

2026-10-01T06:19:57Z codex · CREATED_RECORD — Scaffolded by scripts/new_record.py
2026-10-01T06:21:16Z codex · EXPANDED_RECORD — Added GO synonymy, primosome-complex parentage, reviewed-label-only DnaA and oriC DNA components, E. coli origin-recognition evidence, DNA-replication-initiation function evidence, GO/PubMed/DOI evidence, a nonmechanistic initiation graph, and grounding/boundary discussions.
2026-10-01T06:22:41Z codex · FIX_BOUNDARY_EVIDENCE — Added explicit GO:1990102 and GO:1990100 evidence for the DiaA and DnaB-DnaC boundary discussion.
2026-10-01T06:45:13Z codex · FIX_REVIEW_ISSUE — Narrowed the boundary discussion by removing unsupported HU/IHF/Fis names from the graph scope and discussion prompt.

Source: data/structures/other/dnaa_oric_complex.yaml