MPF-based meiotic cell cycle control: Half a century of lessons from starfish oocytes

Proceedings of the Japan Academy, Series B. Physical and Biological Sciences

Takeo KISHIMOTO¹ 

[1] Professor Emeritus of Tokyo Institute of Technology.

关键词: cell cycle;    meiosis;    M-phase;    MPF;    cyclin B-Cdk1;    oocyte;   

DOI  :  10.2183/pjab.94.013

学科分类：物理（综合）

来源: Japan Academy

【 摘 要 】

In metazoans that undergo sexual reproduction, genomic inheritance is ensured by two distinct types of cell cycle, mitosis and meiosis. Mitosis maintains the genomic ploidy in somatic cells reproducing within a generation, whereas meiosis reduces by half the ploidy in germ cells to prepare for successive generations. The meiotic cell cycle is believed to be a derived form of the mitotic cell cycle; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying both of these processes remain elusive. My laboratory has long studied the meiotic cell cycle in starfish oocytes, particularly the control of meiotic M-phase by maturation- or M phase-promoting factor (MPF) and the kinase cyclin B-associated Cdk1 (cyclin B-Cdk1). Using this system, we have unraveled the molecular principles conserved in metazoans that modify M-phase progression from the mitotic type to the meiotic type needed to produce a haploid genome. Furthermore, we have solved a long-standing enigma concerning the molecular identity of MPF, a universal inducer of M-phase both in mitosis and meiosis of eukaryotic cells.

【 授权许可】

Unknown