Work

A new class of cyclin dependent kinase in Chlamydomonas is required for coupling cell size to cell division

Year: 2016

Type: article

Abstract: Proliferating cells actively control their size by mechanisms that are poorly understood. The unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii divides by multiple fission, wherein a 'counting' mechanism couples mother cell-size to cell division number allowing production of uniform-sized daughters. We identified a sizer protein, CDKG1, that acts through the retinoblastoma (RB) tumor suppressor pathway as a D-cyclin-dependent RB kinase to regulate mitotic counting. Loss of CDKG1 leads to fewer mitotic divisions and large daughters, while mis-expression of CDKG1 causes supernumerous mitotic divisions and small daughters. The concentration of nuclear-localized CDKG1 in pre-mitotic cells is set by mother cell size, and its progressive dilution and degradation with each round of cell division may provide a link between mother cell-size and mitotic division number. Cell-size-dependent accumulation of limiting cell cycle regulators such as CDKG1 is a potentially general mechanism for size control.

Source: eLife

DOI: 10.7554/elife.10767

Authors: Yubing Li, Dianyi Liu, Cristina López-Paz, Bradley JSC Olson, James G Umen

Institutions: Salk Institute for Biological Studies, University of Florida, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Kansas State University

Language: English

Topic: Microtubule and mitosis dynamics

Subfield: Cell Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,500

Funders: American Cancer Society, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of General Medical Sciences