Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 3, 2025
08:05
Manipulation and Analysis of Cell Cycle-Dependent Processes in Budding Yeast
Published on: September 26, 2025
209
Budding yeast relies on G1 cyclin specificity to couple cell cycle progression with morphogenetic development
Deniz Pirincci Ercan1, Florine Chrétien1, Probir Chakravarty2
1Chromosome Segregation Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK.
Science Advances
|June 5, 2021
Summary
Budding yeast cell cycle progression relies on specific G1 cyclins for survival. While quantitative cyclin control supports progression, qualitative specificity is essential for essential morphogenetic events like budding.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Cell Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Two models exist for cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) control of the cell cycle: qualitative (distinct substrate specificities) and quantitative (gradual Cdk activity rise).
- Understanding the balance between these models is crucial for comprehending cell cycle regulation and its link to cellular processes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relative importance of qualitative versus quantitative cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) control in the cell cycle of *Saccharomyces cerevisiae*.
- To determine the necessity of G1 cyclin specificity for essential cellular functions beyond cell cycle progression.
Main Methods:
- Genetic manipulation in *Saccharomyces cerevisiae* to replace multiple cyclins with single cyclins.
- Assessment of cell cycle progression, fitness, and morphogenetic events (polarization, budding) in engineered yeast strains.
Main Results:
- A single mitotic cyclin could replace all S phase and mitotic cyclins, though with reduced fitness.
- A single cyclin could replace all G1 cyclins, supporting ordered cell cycle progression, consistent with the quantitative model.
- However, single-cyclin cells were unable to polarize or bud, leading to inviability, highlighting the importance of G1 cyclin specificity.
Conclusions:
- While quantitative Cdk control can drive cell cycle progression, qualitative G1 cyclin specificity is indispensable for coupling cell division to essential morphogenetic events in budding yeast.
- Budding yeast has evolved a dependence on G1 cyclin specificity for survival, integrating cell cycle progression with cellular morphology.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
02:36Cells Coordinate Growth and Proliferation
4.7K
Cell size is a significant factor impacting cellular design, function, and fitness. There exists some internal coordination by which cells double their masses before division, thus, achieving homeostasis. Coordination between cell growth and proliferation depends on the checkpoints in between cell cycle phases. Loss of coordination or failure in the checkpoint mechanism can drive the cell to uncontrolled growth and loss of cellular function. Like dividing cells that coordinate cellular growth,...
4.7K
01:28Yeast Signaling
16.4K
Yeasts are single-celled organisms, but unlike bacteria, they are eukaryotes (cells with a nucleus). Cell signaling in yeast is similar to signaling in other eukaryotic cells. A ligand, such as a protein or a small molecule released from a yeast cell, attaches to a receptor on the cell surface. The binding stimulates second-messenger kinases to activate or inactivate transcription factors that further regulate gene expression. Many of the yeast intracellular signaling cascades have similar...
16.4K
02:39Positive Regulator Molecules
6.0K
Mitotic cell division results in daughter cells that exactly resemble the parent cell. However, errors in the DNA replication or distribution of genetic material may lead to genetic mutations that may be passed down to every new cell formed from the resulting abnormal cell. Propagation of such mutant cells is restricted through checkpoint mechanisms present at different stages of the cell cycle. These checkpoints involve regulator molecules that either promote or demote cell cycle events.
6.0K
01:45Positive Regulator Molecules
116.2K
To consistently produce healthy cells, the cell cycle—the process that generates daughter cells—must be precisely regulated.
116.2K
01:28The Cell Cycle Control System
4.4K
The cell cycle regulation directs how a cell proceeds from one phase to the next and begins mitosis. The cell cycle control system includes intracellular regulatory molecules and external triggers. They provide "stop" or "advance" signals and operate at specific cell cycle stages termed checkpoints to ensure that a particular process is completed before the cell advances to the next phase.
Cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks) are the primary cell cycle regulators and...
Cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks) are the primary cell cycle regulators and...
4.4K
02:11The Cell Cycle Control System
13.0K
The cell cycle is an organized set of events that leads the cell to divide into two daughter cells, each containing chromosomes identical to the parent cell. It is the cell cycle that leads to the formation of an entire organism from a single-cell zygote. Besides, cell division also functions in the renewal or repair of tissues in adult multicellular eukaryotes. For example, in the bone marrow, the stem cells divide to form new blood cells. Although essential for several functions, cell...
13.0K