Detection and characterization of constitutive replication origins defined by DNA polymerase epsilon

BACKGROUND: Despite the process of DNA replication being mechanistically highly conserved, the location of origins of replication (ORI) may vary from one tissue to the next, or between rounds of replication in eukaryotes, suggesting flexibility in the choice of locations to initiate replication. Lists of human ORI therefore vary widely in number and location, and there are currently no methods available to compare them. Here, we propose a method of detection of ORI based on somatic mutation patterns generated by the mutator phenotype of damaged DNA polymerase epsilon (POLE). RESULTS: We report the genome-wide localization of constitutive ORI in POLE-mutated human tumors using whole genome sequencing data. Mutations accumulated after many rounds of replication of unsynchronized dividing cell populations in tumors allow to identify constitutive origins, which we show are shared with high fidelity between individuals and tumor types. Using a Smith–Waterman-like dynamic programming approach, we compared replication origin positions obtained from multiple different methods. The comparison allowed us to define a consensus set of replication origins, identified consistently by multiple ORI detection methods. Many DNA features co-localized with the consensus set of ORI, including chromatin loop anchors, G-quadruplexes, S/MARs, and CpGs. Among all features, the H2A.Z histone exhibited the most significant association. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that mutation-based detection of replication origins is a viable approach to determining their location and associated sequence features. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12915-023-01527-z.