A widely used model system to investigate cell proliferation is stimulation of serum-arrested cells with growth factors. Recent data suggest that there are two waves of growth factor-dependent signaling events required for a proliferative response. One is an acute burst of signaling,...

Activation of cyclin dependent kinases (CDKs) by phosphorylation of the conserved Tloop is a regulatory step of cell cycle progression that was discovered just a decade ago. A wealth of data regarding this activation and of potential CDK activating kinases (CAKs) has accumulated. Despite this...

Recent development in plant molecular genetics has facilitated our understanding of how plants accomplish their body plans in response to various environmental signals. Plants have a unique feature of making almost all organs after embryogenesis, and morphogenesis usually takes place at a...

The eukaryotic cell division cycle is controlled via the sequential activation and inactivation of cyclin-dependent protein kinases (cdks). In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae , Cdc28p is the only CDK involved in regulating the cell cycle, while in higher eukaryotes, multiple CDKs...

Activation of cyclin dependent kinases (CDKs) by phosphorylation of the conserved Tloop is a regulatory step of cell cycle progression that was discovered just a decade ago. A wealth of data regarding this activation and of potential CDK activating kinases (CAKs) has accumulated. Despite this...

TFIIH was originally identified as a basal transcription factor involved in protein-coding genes transcription. The systematic cloning of its nine subunits revealed however that TFIIH also participates in two other fundamental cell processes: cell cycle regulation and repair of damaged DNA....

Sequential activation of members of the cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) family orders the events required for DNA replication and cell division. Both the CDK and cyclin families have multiple members that selectively bind to preferred partners to generate complexes that drive cell cycle...

Different environmental stresses, among them heat, hyperosmotic and oxidative ones, cause yeast cells to arrest at G1. The duration of the arrest is proportional to the intensity of the stress, and is concomitant to down-regulation of CLN1/CLN2 expression. In certain cases it has...

Cell cycle checkpoints constitute a network of signal transduction mechanisms to monitor DNA damage and regulate progression through the cell cycle. A series of events is triggered in cells upon DNA damage. Here we describe a framework for the understanding of the functions of the core components...

The p53 tumor suppressor protein plays a pivotal role in the cellular response to stress. A variety of stress signals trigger accumulation and activation of p53 to halt the cell cycle and to prevent replication of damaged DNA. The p53 protein is required for a proper G1 arrest, it is essential...