A 48-kDa, S-antigen-like phosphoprotein in yeast DNA-replicative complex preparations.

A 48-kDa protein from the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is antigenically and structurally similar to S-antigen from retina. Eight anti-S-antigen monoclonal antibodies, directed against distinct epitopes, cross-reacted with a yeast 48-kDa protein. Structural similarity between the bovine and yeast proteins was further demonstrated by comparison of tryptic peptide fragments containing one of these epitopes. This 48-kDa yeast protein appears to be a component of the replicative complex of the cell. It was found associated with immunoaffinity-purified yeast DNA polymerase I-primase and with yeast DNA-replicative complex. The 48-kDa protein was phosphorylated by a protein kinase activity endogenous to the replicative complex preparation. This phosphorylation was dependent on the cell division cycle gene CDC7. In addition, authentic bovine S-antigen, when added to yeast DNA polymerase I-primase, stimulated polymerase activity. These findings suggest that the yeast S-antigen-like protein may play a role in replication, and they raise the possibility that it may be involved in traversal of the G1/S boundary of the cell cycle.