A deoxynucleoside triphosphate triphosphohydrolase promotes cell cycle progression in

Intracellular pools of deoxynucleoside triphosphates (dNTPs) are strictly maintained throughout the cell cycle to ensure accurate and efficient DNA replication. DNA synthesis requires an abundance of dNTPs, but elevated dNTP concentrations in nonreplicating cells delay entry into S phase. Enzymes known as deoxyguanosine triphosphate triphosphohydrolases (Dgts) hydrolyze dNTPs into deoxynucleosides and triphosphates, and we propose that Dgts restrict dNTP concentrations to promote the G1 to S phase transition. We characterized a Dgt from the bacterium Cells must faithfully replicate their genetic material in order to proliferate. Studying the regulatory pathways that determine when a cell initiates DNA replication is important for understanding fundamental biological processes, and it can also improve the strategies used to treat diseases that affect the cell cycle. Here, we describe a nucleotide signaling pathway that regulates when cells will begin DNA replication. We show that this pathway promotes the transition from the G1 to the S phase of the cell cycle in the bacterium