title: Mediator can regulate mitotic entry and direct periodic transcription in fission yeast.
abstract: Cdk8 is required for correct timing of mitotic progression in fission yeast. How the activity of Cdk8 is regulated is unclear, since the kinase is not activated by T-loop phosphorylation and its partner, CycC, does not oscillate. Cdk8 is, however, a component of the multiprotein Mediator complex, a conserved coregulator of eukaryotic transcription that is connected to a number of intracellular signaling pathways. We demonstrate here that other Mediator components regulate the activity of Cdk8 in vivo and thereby direct the timing of mitotic entry. Deletion of Mediator components Med12 and Med13 leads to higher cellular Cdk8 protein levels, premature phosphorylation of the Cdk8 target Fkh2, and earlier entry into mitosis. We also demonstrate that Mediator is recruited to clusters of mitotic genes in a periodic fashion and that the complex is required for the transcription of these genes. We suggest that Mediator functions as a hub for coordinated regulation of mitotic progression and cell cycle-dependent transcription. The many signaling pathways and activator proteins shown to function via Mediator may influence the timing of these cell cycle events.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Gabor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Banyai
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Marcela Davila
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden zsolt.szilagyi@medkem.gu.se claes.gustafsson@medkem.gu.se.
authors.forename: Zsolt
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Szilagyi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden zsolt.szilagyi@medkem.gu.se claes.gustafsson@medkem.gu.se.
authors.forename: Claes M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Gustafsson
mesh_terms: D056850:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 8 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005800:Genes, Fungal; D056892:Mediator Complex / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008938:Mitosis; D010766:Phosphorylation; D012568:Schizosaccharomyces / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D029702:Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C500536:Fkh2 protein, S pombe; D056892:Mediator Complex; D029702:Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D056850:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 8; C112462:srb10 protein, S pombe