This study investigated the status of DNA polymerase alpha in fission yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe) at different stages of the cell cycle. The researchers found that: 1) DNA polymerase alpha is phosphorylated to a higher level in late S phase cells compared to G2/M phase cells. However, the steady-state level of phosphorylation did not vary during the cell cycle. 2) The phosphorylation sites differed between late S phase and G2/M phase. 3) DNA polymerase alpha partially purified from G1/S phase cells had a different mobility and higher affinity for single-stranded DNA than that from G2/M phase cells. 4) Despite these differences, the in