ORC2 is a subunit of the origin recognition complex in yeast and has been implicated in the initiation of DNA replication and transcriptional silencing. We have isolated mouse and human cDNA clones encoding proteins with 47.9 and 46.3% similarity, respectively, to yeast ORC2. This degree of similarity and the alignment of sequences suggest that these clones may represent a mammalian ORC2 homologue. The existence of such a homologue would, in turn, suggest the existence of a mammalian origin recognition complex, similar to that found in yeast. Although Northern blot analysis of various adult mouse tissues found the highest levels of expression of ORC2-like (ORC2L) RNA in testes, strong signals did not always correspond to tissues in which high levels of DNA replication would be expected. This finding may reflect functional roles of ORC2L distinct from those that it may play in DNA replication. Analyses of somatic cell hybrid DNA and fluorescence in situ hybridization were employed to map the human ORC2L gene to chromosome 2q33. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.