The protein kinase Cdr2, related to Nim1/Cdr1 mitotic inducer, regulates the onset of mitosis in fission yeast

Mol Biol Cell. 1998 Dec;9(12):3321-34. doi: 10.1091/mbc.9.12.3321.

Abstract

Cdc2-Cyclin B, the protein kinase that catalyzes the onset of mitosis, is subject to multiple forms of regulation. In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe and most other species, a key mode of Cdc2-Cyclin B regulation is the inhibitory phosphorylation of Cdc2 on tyrosine-15. This phosphorylation is catalyzed by the protein kinases Wee1 and Mik1 and removed by the phosphatase Cdc25. These proteins are also regulated, a notable example being the inhibition of Wee1 by the protein kinase Nim1/Cdr1. The temperature-sensitive mutation cdc25-22 is synthetic lethal with nim1/cdr1 mutations, suggesting that a synthetic lethal genetic screen could be used to identify novel mitotic regulators. Here we describe that such a screen has identified cdr2(+), a gene that has an important role in the mitotic control. Cdr2 is a 775 amino acid protein kinase that is closely related to Nim1 and mitotic control proteins in budding yeast. Deletion of cdr2 causes a G2-M delay that is more severe than that caused by nim1/cdr1 mutations. Genetic studies are consistent with a model in which Cdr2 negatively regulates Wee1. This model is supported by experiments showing that Cdr2 associates with the N-terminal regulatory domain of Wee1 in cell lysates and phosphorylates Wee1 in vitro. Thus, Cdr2 is a novel mitotic control protein that appears to regulate Wee1.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters / genetics
  • ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters / metabolism*
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Base Sequence
  • CDC2 Protein Kinase / metabolism
  • Cell Cycle Proteins*
  • Chromosome Mapping
  • Cyclin B / metabolism
  • DNA Primers / genetics
  • Fungal Proteins*
  • Gene Deletion
  • Genes, Fungal
  • Mitosis / physiology*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Mutation
  • Nitrogen / metabolism
  • Nuclear Proteins*
  • Phosphorylation
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / genetics
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / metabolism*
  • Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / genetics
  • Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / metabolism*
  • Schizosaccharomyces / cytology*
  • Schizosaccharomyces / genetics
  • Schizosaccharomyces / metabolism*
  • Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins*
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Tyrosine / metabolism

Substances

  • ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters
  • Cell Cycle Proteins
  • Cyclin B
  • DNA Primers
  • Fungal Proteins
  • Nuclear Proteins
  • Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins
  • Tyrosine
  • cdr1 protein, S pombe
  • wee1 protein, S pombe
  • Protein-Tyrosine Kinases
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases
  • CDC2 Protein Kinase
  • Nitrogen