Differential effects of aphidicolin on replicative DNA synthesis and unscheduled DNA synthesis in permeable mouse sarcoma cells.

Aphidicolin clearly discriminated replicative DNA synthesis from unscheduled DNA synthesis. Aphidicolin inhibited replicative DNA synthesis in permeable mouse ascites sarcoma cells. The mode of inhibition of aphidicolin was a mixed type with respect to deoxycytidine triphosphate but was non-competitive with respect to the other three deoxynucleoside triphosphates. Aphidicolin did not affect the activity of unscheduled DNA synthesis in either bleomycin-treated permeable sarcoma cells or isolated rat liver nuclei. Considering the difference in sensitivity of DNA polymerase alpha and beta to aphidicolin, and other related information reported previously, the results are compatible with the idea that DNA polymerase alpha is involved in replicative DNA synthesis and DNA polymerase beta in unscheduled DNA synthesis in the present systems.