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Updated: Jul 19, 2026

Analysis of Cell Cycle Position in Mammalian Cells
Published on: January 21, 2012
Regulation of DNA synthesis in bacteria: Analysis of the Bates/Kleckner licensing/initiation-mass model for cell
1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0620, USA. cooper@umich.edu
Abstract:
Bates and Kleckner have recently proposed that bacterial cell division is a licensing agent for a subsequent initiation of DNA replication. They also propose that initiation mass for DNA replication is not constant. These two proposals do not take into account older data showing that initiation of DNA replication can occur prior to the division event. This critical analysis is derived from measurements of DNA replication during the division cycle in cells growing at different, and more rapid, growth rates. Furthermore, mutants impaired in division can initiate DNA synthesis. The data presented by Bates and Kleckner do not support the proposal that initiation mass is variable, and the proposed pattern of DNA replication during the division cycle of the K12 cells analysed is not consistent with prior data on the pattern of DNA replication during the division cycle.
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