Cell cycle regulation in plants: the role of CDK activatory dephosphorylation at entry into mitosis

t I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Summary of PhD. thesis Cel1 division representsone of fundamentalattributesof all living creatuÍes.Basic molecular mechanisms operating during cell proliferation seem to be evolutionary conservedamongeukaryotes.The cell cycle is dividedin four subsequentphases;themost regulatoryeventsareconcentratedin Gr/S andGzlM checkpoints. The key regulatory proteins, cyclin-dependentkinases (CDKs), govern the progress throughthe whole cell cycle. Their function is strictly dependenton catalytic cyclin subunits.The correspondingcyclin partnerbinding CDK determinesthe time window of the specific CDlVcyclin complex actionin individual cell cycle phase.To becomefully active, the complex requiresfurtherposttranslationalmodificationincluding activatory phosphorylationanddephosphorylationof theCDK on specificaminoacidresidues. Plant cell cycle, besideswell-conservedmechanismscoÍlmonto all eukaryotes,exhibits other specific mechanismsresultingfrom plant survival strategy.The Gr/S transitionis stronglyaffectedby extemalandinternalsignals,mainlyphytohormonesandmetabolites, reflectingthe elementaryconditionssuitablefor accomplishmentof the whole cell cycle. The centralmoleculerespondingto thesesignalsat Gr/S is D cyclin, whoseexpressionis regulatedby cýokinin and sucrose(Riou-Khamlichi et aI.,..