The protein encoded by this gene interacts with components of the origin recognition complex (ORC) and regulates the formation of the prereplicative complex. The encoded protein stabilizes the ORC and therefore aids in DNA replication. This protein is required for the G1/S phase transition of the cell cycle. In addition, the encoded protein binds to trimethylated histone H3 in heterochromatin and recruits the ORC and lysine methyltransferases, which help maintain the repressive heterochromatic state. Two transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Dec 2015],