Zeatin is indispensable for the G2-M transition in tobacco BY-2 cells

The importance of N6-isoprenoid cytokinins in the G2-M transition of Nicotiana tabacum BY-2 cells was investigated. Both cytokinin biosynthesis and entry in mitosis were partially blocked by application at early or late G2 of lovastatin (10 microM), an inhibitor of mevalonic acid synthesis. LC-MS/MS quantification of endogenous cytokinins proved that lovastatin affects cytokinin biosynthesis by inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase. Out of eight different aminopurines and a synthetic auxin tested for their ability to override lovastatin inhibition of mitosis, only zeatin was active. Our data point to a key role for a well-defined cytokinin (here, zeatin) in the G2-M transition of tobacco BY-2 cells.