On the slowing of S phase in response to DNA damage in fission yeast

Eukaryotic cells slow their progression through S phase upon DNA damage. The mechanism that leads to this slowing is called the intra-S-phase checkpoint. Previous studies demonstrated that in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe this checkpoint is mediated by a pathway that includes Rad3 (similar to human ATR and ATM) and Cds1 (similar to human Chk1 and Chk2). Here we present evidence that a major downstream target of this pathway is the cyclin-dependent kinase, Cdc2. We also present evidence suggesting that the intra-S-phase checkpoint makes a relatively minor contribution to the survival of cells with damaged DNA.