Conserved and novel regulators of the plant cell cycle

Cell division is highly regulated, both spatially and temporally, during plant development. Recent evidence implicates cyclin-dependent kinases (cdks) and their associated proteins as the principal temporal regulators of cell division. It is now known that plants contain an extended family of cdks, some of which appear to be unique to this group. Positive rate-limiting regulators of cell proliferation and growth include mitotic or B-type cyclins whose transcription is restricted to the G2 and M phases. Current research suggests that MYB-related transcription factors may be responsible for this restriction. Cdk-interacting proteins, such as cdk inhibitors and suc1 homologues, have been isolated using yeast two-hybrid approaches.