Control of G2 delay by the rad9 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

In response to DNA damage, Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells arrest the cell cycle in the G2 phase. Arrest is defective in rad9 mutants; rad9 cells divide and die without repairing the damage. Several cell cycle mutants that are defective in DNA replication arrest in G2 at the restrictive temperature; this arrest is due to the RAD9 control function. Thus RAD9 is responsible for the fact that mitosis is normally dependent upon DNA replication, a function we term a 'checkpoint'. Four additional genes have been identified that are also components of the RAD9 checkpoint.