Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 28, 2026

Imaging Dpp Release from a Drosophila Wing Disc
Published on: October 30, 2019
PAN GU: a protein kinase that inhibits S phase and promotes mitosis in early Drosophila development
D D Fenger1, J L Carminati, D L Burney-Sigman
1Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Whitehead Institute, Nine Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. weaver@wi.mit.edu
Abstract:
Following completion of meiosis, DNA replication must be repressed until fertilization. In Drosophila, this replication block requires the products of the pan gu (png), plutonium (plu) and giant nuclei (gnu) genes. These genes also ensure that S phase oscillates with mitosis in the early division cycles of the embryo. We have identified the png gene and shown that it encodes a Ser/Thr protein kinase expressed only in ovaries and early embryos, and that the predicted extent of kinase activity in png mutants inversely correlates with the severity of the mutant phenotypes. The PLU and PNG proteins form a complex that has PNG-dependent kinase activity, and this activity is necessary for normal levels of mitotic cyclins. Our results reveal a novel protein kinase complex that controls S phase at the onset of development apparently by stabilizing mitotic cyclins.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Negative Regulator Molecules
piRNA - Piwi-interacting RNAs
Positive Regulator Molecules
Inhibition of Cdk Activity
M-Cdk Drives Transition Into Mitosis
Cyclin-dependent kinases, or Cdks, work in concert with cyclins to control cell cycle transitions. M-Cdk, a complex of Cdk1 bound to M cyclin, is a well-known example of this coordinated control that drives the transition from the G2 to the M phase.
M cyclin...

