Cell-cycle regulation.
Cell-division control affects many aspects of development. Caenorhabditis elegans cell-cycle genes have been identified over the past decade, including at least two distinct Cyclin-Dependent Kinases (CDKs), their cyclin partners, positive and negative regulators, and downstream targets. The balance between CDK activation and inactivation determines whether cells proceed through G1 into S phase, and from G2 to M, through regulatory mechanisms that are conserved in more complex eukaryotes. The challenge is to expand our understanding of the basic cell cycle into a comprehensive regulatory network that incorporates environmental factors and coordinates cell division with growth, differentiation and tissue formation during development. Results from several studies indicate a critical role for CKI-1, a CDK inhibitor of the Cip/Kip family, in the temporal control of cell division, potentially acting downstream of heterochronic genes and dauer regulatory pathways.
Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA. heuvel@helix.mgh.harvard.edu
Sander
S
van den Heuvel
D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000166:cytology* / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*