Dbf4-dependent protein kinase complex

GO:0031431 · Other · Multiprotein complex · Proposed

A heterodimeric protein complex required for the activation of DNA replication origins; comprises a catalytic subunit and a regulatory subunit (in Saccharomyces, Cdc7p and Dbf4p, respectively); complexes identified in other species generally contain proteins related to the Saccharomyces proteins. [GO:0031431]

Synonyms: DDK; Cdc7-Dbf4 complex; Hsk1-Dfp1 kinase complex

UniProt location names: UniProt Consortium, CC BY 4.0. Reference label and route sources.

Components

Component	Type	Part of / acts on	Grounding	Genes	Stoichiometry	Essential	Role
Cdc7 kinase subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	CDC7		UNKNOWN	Catalytic constituent of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Dbf4-dependent protein kinase complex. `GO:0031431` GO:0031431 defines budding-yeast DDK as comprising the catalytic Cdc7p subunit and the regulatory Dbf4p subunit.
Dbf4 regulatory subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	DBF4		UNKNOWN	Regulatory constituent of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Dbf4-dependent protein kinase complex. `GO:0031431` GO:0031431 defines budding-yeast DDK as comprising the catalytic Cdc7p subunit and the regulatory Dbf4p subunit.

Taxonomic distribution

NCBITaxon:4932 Saccharomyces cerevisiae — COMMON: Budding yeast has a Dbf4-dependent protein kinase complex made of the Cdc7p catalytic and Dbf4p regulatory subunits. [GO:0031431]

Canonical examples

NCBITaxon:4932 Saccharomyces cerevisiae — Reference budding-yeast system named in the GO:0031431 definition as containing Cdc7p and Dbf4p. [GO:0031431]

Functions

DNA replication initiation GO:0006270 — The Dbf4-dependent protein kinase complex is required for activation of DNA replication origins.
- GO:0031431 GO:0031431 defines the Dbf4-dependent protein kinase complex as required for activation of DNA replication origins.
- GO:0006270 GO:0006270 is the Gene Ontology biological-process term for DNA replication initiation.

Mechanism graphs

DDK supports replication-origin activation (FUNCTION)

Cdc7 and Dbf4 form the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Dbf4-dependent protein kinase complex that supports activation of DNA replication origins.

Subject	Predicate	Object	Evidence
Cdc7 kinase subunit	contributes to	Dbf4-dependent protein kinase complex	`GO:0031431` GO:0031431 defines the Saccharomyces DDK complex as containing catalytic Cdc7p and regulatory Dbf4p.
Dbf4 regulatory subunit	contributes to	Dbf4-dependent protein kinase complex	`GO:0031431` GO:0031431 defines the Saccharomyces DDK complex as containing catalytic Cdc7p and regulatory Dbf4p.
Dbf4-dependent protein kinase complex	supports	DNA replication initiation	`GO:0031431` GO:0031431 defines DDK as required for activation of DNA replication origins. `GO:0006270` GO:0006270 is the biological-process term for DNA replication initiation.

Discussions

CURATION_TODO (OPEN): Resolve exact source-neutral family groundings for the Cdc7 and Dbf4 constituents of the Dbf4-dependent protein kinase complex. GO:0031431 exactly identifies the Dbf4-dependent protein kinase complex and names the budding-yeast Cdc7p and Dbf4p constituents, but exact source-neutral InterPro, Pfam, NCBIfam or UniProtKB family CURIEs for the kinase and regulatory subunit classes were not curated in this pass.

Evidence

GO:0031431 Gene Ontology cellular-component term for the Dbf4-dependent protein kinase complex.
GO:0140513 Gene Ontology cellular-component parent term for nuclear protein-containing complexes.
GO:0006270 Gene Ontology biological-process term for DNA replication initiation.
PMID:12045100 PubMed identifier for Bell and Dutta 2002, the Annual Review of Biochemistry review listed as the GO:0031431 definition source.
DOI:10.1146/annurev.biochem.71.110601.135425 DOI for Bell and Dutta 2002, verified through PubMed as the GO:0031431 definition-source review.

Curation history

2026-09-27T12:59:50Z codex · CREATED_RECORD — Scaffolded by scripts/new_record.py
2026-09-27T13:00:50Z codex · EXPANDED_RECORD — Added GO DDK synonymy, nuclear protein-containing-complex parentage, Cdc7 and Dbf4 reviewed-label-only budding-yeast constituent rows, yeast scope, DNA-replication-initiation function evidence, GO/PubMed/DOI evidence, a nonmechanistic function graph, and a DDK subunit-grounding TODO.

Source: data/structures/other/dbf4_dependent_protein_kinase_complex.yaml