Novel fission yeast Cdc7-Dbf4-like kinase complex required for the initiation and progression of meiotic second division.

ABSTRACT: Cdc7, a conserved serine/threonine protein kinase, controls initiation of DNA replication. A regulatory subunit, Dbf4, stimulates the kinase activity of Cdc7 and recruits it to the replication origins. Schizosaccharomyces pombe has a homologous kinase complex, composed of Hsk1 and Dfp1/Him1. Here, we report a novel protein kinase of S. pombe, Spo4, which shares common structural features with the Cdc7 kinases. In spite of the structural similarities, Spo4 is dispensable for mitotic growth and premeiotic DNA replication. Intriguingly, spo4 null mutants are defective in initiation and progression of the second meiotic division. Spindles for meiosis II are often fragmented. Spo4 kinase activity is markedly enhanced when the enzyme is associated with its regulatory subunit, Spo6, a Dbf4-like p

SUBMITTER: Nakamura T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC134210 | biostudies-literature | 2002 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature