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.
van den Heuvel
Sander
S
Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA. heuvel@helix.mgh.harvard.edu
D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000166:cytology* / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*