Directionality of Replication Fork Movement Determined by Two-Dimensional Native–Native DNA Agarose Gel Electrophoresis

Abstract

The analysis of replication intermediates by the neutral–neutral two-dimensional agarose gel technique allows determining the chromosomal positions where DNA replication initiates, whether replication forks pause or stall at specific sites, or whether two DNA molecules undergo DNA recombination events. This technique does not, however, immediately tell in which direction replication forks migrate through the DNA region under investigation. Here, we describe the procedure to determine the direction of replication fork progression by carrying out a restriction enzyme digest of DNA imbedded in agarose after the completion of the first dimension of a 2D gel.