The S. pombe CDK5 Orthologue Pef1 Cooperates with Three Cyclins, Clg1, Pas1 and Psl1, to Promote Pre-Meiotic DNA
Shinya Matsuda1,2, Ushio Kikkawa1,3, Akio Nakashima1,3
1Biosignal Research Center, Kobe University, 1-1, Rokkodai-cho, Nada-ku, Kobe 657-8501, Japan.
Abstract:
Meiosis is a specialized cell division process that mediates genetic information transfer to the next generation. Meiotic chromosomal segregation occurs when DNA replication is completed during the pre-meiotic S phase. Here, we show that Schizosaccharomyces pombe Pef1, an orthologue of mammalian cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5), is required to promote pre-meiotic DNA replication. We examined the efficiency of meiotic initiation using pat1-114 mutants and found that, meiotic nuclear divisions did not occur in the pef1Δ pat1-114 strain. Deletion of pef1 also suppressed the expression of DNA replication factors and the phosphorylation of Cdc2 Tyr-15. The double deletion of clg1 and psl1 arrested meiotic initiation in pat1-114 mutant cells, similar to that of pef1-deficient cells. Meiotic progression was also slightly delayed in the pas1-deficient strain. Our results reveal that Pef1 regulates cyclin-coordinated meiotic progression.
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