Skip to main content
PMC home page
Genetics logoLink to Genetics
. 1996 Dec;144(4):1413–1424. doi: 10.1093/genetics/144.4.1413

Identification of Residues in Fission Yeast and Human P34(cdc2) Required for S-M Checkpoint Control

G Basi 1, T Enoch 1
PMCID: PMC1207694  PMID: 8978030

Abstract

In fission yeast, regulation of p34(cdc2) plays an important role in the checkpoint coupling mitosis to completion of DNA replication. The cdc2 mutations cdc2-3w (C67Y) and cdc2-4w (C67F) abolish checkpoint control without seriously affecting normal cell proliferation. However the molecular basis of this phenotype is not known. To better understand the role of p34(cdc2) in checkpoint control, we have screened for more mutations in Schizosaccharomyces pombe cdc2 with this phenotype. We have isolated cdc2-3w and cdc2-4w, as well as three new cdc2 alleles: cdc2-6w (N66I), cdc2-7w (E8V) and cdc2-8w (K9E). The altered residues map to two different regions on opposite faces of the protein, suggesting that the interaction between p34(cdc2) and components of the checkpoint pathway may be complex. In contrast to cdc2-3w and cdc2-4w, the new mutations alter residues that are conserved between the fission yeast cdc2(+) and other cdks, including the human CDC2 protein. Expression of the equivalent human CDC2 mutants in fission yeast abolishes checkpoint control, suggesting that these residues could be involved in checkpoint-dependent regulation of other eukaryotic cdks.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (7.5 MB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Amon A., Surana U., Muroff I., Nasmyth K. Regulation of p34CDC28 tyrosine phosphorylation is not required for entry into mitosis in S. cerevisiae. Nature. 1992 Jan 23;355(6358):368–371. doi: 10.1038/355368a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Basi G., Schmid E., Maundrell K. TATA box mutations in the Schizosaccharomyces pombe nmt1 promoter affect transcription efficiency but not the transcription start point or thiamine repressibility. Gene. 1993 Jan 15;123(1):131–136. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(93)90552-e. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Carr A. M., MacNeill S. A., Hayles J., Nurse P. Molecular cloning and sequence analysis of mutant alleles of the fission yeast cdc2 protein kinase gene: implications for cdc2+ protein structure and function. Mol Gen Genet. 1989 Jul;218(1):41–49. doi: 10.1007/BF00330563. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. De Bondt H. L., Rosenblatt J., Jancarik J., Jones H. D., Morgan D. O., Kim S. H. Crystal structure of cyclin-dependent kinase 2. Nature. 1993 Jun 17;363(6430):595–602. doi: 10.1038/363595a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Ducommun B., Brambilla P., Félix M. A., Franza B. R., Jr, Karsenti E., Draetta G. cdc2 phosphorylation is required for its interaction with cyclin. EMBO J. 1991 Nov;10(11):3311–3319. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1991.tb04895.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Enoch T., Carr A. M., Nurse P. Fission yeast genes involved in coupling mitosis to completion of DNA replication. Genes Dev. 1992 Nov;6(11):2035–2046. doi: 10.1101/gad.6.11.2035. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Enoch T., Nurse P. Mutation of fission yeast cell cycle control genes abolishes dependence of mitosis on DNA replication. Cell. 1990 Feb 23;60(4):665–673. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(90)90669-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Fantes P. A. Isolation of cell size mutants of a fission yeast by a new selective method: characterization of mutants and implications for division control mechanisms. J Bacteriol. 1981 May;146(2):746–754. doi: 10.1128/jb.146.2.746-754.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Gould K. L., Moreno S., Tonks N. K., Nurse P. Complementation of the mitotic activator, p80cdc25, by a human protein-tyrosine phosphatase. Science. 1990 Dec 14;250(4987):1573–1576. doi: 10.1126/science.1703321. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Gould K. L., Nurse P. Tyrosine phosphorylation of the fission yeast cdc2+ protein kinase regulates entry into mitosis. Nature. 1989 Nov 2;342(6245):39–45. doi: 10.1038/342039a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Hanks S. K., Quinn A. M. Protein kinase catalytic domain sequence database: identification of conserved features of primary structure and classification of family members. Methods Enzymol. 1991;200:38–62. doi: 10.1016/0076-6879(91)00126-h. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Hartwell L. H., Weinert T. A. Checkpoints: controls that ensure the order of cell cycle events. Science. 1989 Nov 3;246(4930):629–634. doi: 10.1126/science.2683079. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Hayles J., Nurse P. A pre-start checkpoint preventing mitosis in fission yeast acts independently of p34cdc2 tyrosine phosphorylation. EMBO J. 1995 Jun 15;14(12):2760–2771. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1995.tb07276.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Heald R., McLoughlin M., McKeon F. Human wee1 maintains mitotic timing by protecting the nucleus from cytoplasmically activated Cdc2 kinase. Cell. 1993 Aug 13;74(3):463–474. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(93)80048-j. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Hirano T., Funahashi S., Uemura T., Yanagida M. Isolation and characterization of Schizosaccharomyces pombe cutmutants that block nuclear division but not cytokinesis. EMBO J. 1986 Nov;5(11):2973–2979. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1986.tb04594.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Jeffrey P. D., Russo A. A., Polyak K., Gibbs E., Hurwitz J., Massagué J., Pavletich N. P. Mechanism of CDK activation revealed by the structure of a cyclinA-CDK2 complex. Nature. 1995 Jul 27;376(6538):313–320. doi: 10.1038/376313a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Labib K., Craven R. A., Crawford K., Nurse P. Dominant mutants identify new roles for p34cdc2 in mitosis. EMBO J. 1995 May 15;14(10):2155–2165. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1995.tb07209.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. MacNeill S. A., Nurse P. Genetic analysis of human p34CDC2 function in fission yeast. Mol Gen Genet. 1993 Sep;240(3):315–322. doi: 10.1007/BF00280381. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Maller J. L. MPF and cell cycle control. Adv Second Messenger Phosphoprotein Res. 1990;24:323–328. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Maundrell K. nmt1 of fission yeast. A highly transcribed gene completely repressed by thiamine. J Biol Chem. 1990 Jul 5;265(19):10857–10864. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Millar J. B., Lenaers G., Russell P. Pyp3 PTPase acts as a mitotic inducer in fission yeast. EMBO J. 1992 Dec;11(13):4933–4941. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1992.tb05600.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Moreno S., Klar A., Nurse P. Molecular genetic analysis of fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Methods Enzymol. 1991;194:795–823. doi: 10.1016/0076-6879(91)94059-l. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Nurse P. Genetic control of cell size at cell division in yeast. Nature. 1975 Aug 14;256(5518):547–551. doi: 10.1038/256547a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Nurse P. Universal control mechanism regulating onset of M-phase. Nature. 1990 Apr 5;344(6266):503–508. doi: 10.1038/344503a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Osmani S. A., Pu R. T., Morris N. R. Mitotic induction and maintenance by overexpression of a G2-specific gene that encodes a potential protein kinase. Cell. 1988 Apr 22;53(2):237–244. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(88)90385-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Prentice H. L. High efficiency transformation of Schizosaccharomyces pombe by electroporation. Nucleic Acids Res. 1992 Feb 11;20(3):621–621. doi: 10.1093/nar/20.3.621. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Russell P., Nurse P. Negative regulation of mitosis by wee1+, a gene encoding a protein kinase homolog. Cell. 1987 May 22;49(4):559–567. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(87)90458-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Russell P., Nurse P. cdc25+ functions as an inducer in the mitotic control of fission yeast. Cell. 1986 Apr 11;45(1):145–153. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(86)90546-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Sorger P. K., Murray A. W. S-phase feedback control in budding yeast independent of tyrosine phosphorylation of p34cdc28. Nature. 1992 Jan 23;355(6358):365–368. doi: 10.1038/355365a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Genetics are provided here courtesy of Oxford University Press

RESOURCES