Sodium butyrate inhibited initiation of viral and cellular DNA replication in polyoma virus-infected mouse kidney cells. Ongoing viral or cellular DNA replication, however, was not affected by the presence of the substance. Butyrate had no effect on T-antigen synthesis and on the stimulation of transcription, one of the earliest reactions of the infected cells to the appearance of T-antigen, nor did it inhibit expression of late viral genes (synthesis of viral capsid proteins). In addition to blocking the onset of DNA synthesis, butyrate also inhibited stimulation of the activities of enzymes involved in DNA synthesis. When butyrate was removed, viral and cellular DNA syntheses were induced in parallel after a lag period of approximately 4 h. At the same time, the activities of enzymes involved in DNA synthesis increase. If protein synthesis was inhibited during part of the lag period, the initiation of DNA synthesis was retarded for the same time interval, suggesting that the proteins involved in the initiation of DNA replication had to be made. We have developed an in vitro system for measuring DNA synthesis in crude nuclear preparations which mimics the status of DNA replication in intact cells and may help in future experiments to study the requirements for initiation of cellular and viral DNA synthesis and the possible involvement of T-antigens in this reaction.