Published in

Rockefeller University Press, Journal of Cell Biology, 6(204), p. 1075-1075, 2014

DOI: 10.1083/jcb.20131008303042014c

Rockefeller University Press, Journal of Cell Biology, 4(204), p. 507-522, 2014

DOI: 10.1083/jcb.201310083

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CDK phosphorylation of SLD-2 is required for replication initiation and germline development in C. elegans

Journal article published in 2014 by Vincent Gaggioli, Eva Zeiser, David Rivers, Charles R. Bradshaw ORCID, Julie Ahringer, Philip Zegerman
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

Cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) plays a vital role in proliferation control across eukaryotes. Despite this, how CDK mediates cell cycle and developmental transitions in metazoa is poorly understood. In this paper, we identify orthologues of Sld2, a CDK target that is important for DNA replication in yeast, and characterize SLD-2 in the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans. We demonstrate that SLD-2 is required for replication initiation and the nuclear retention of a critical component of the replicative helicase CDC-45 in embryos. SLD-2 is a CDK target in vivo, and phosphorylation regulates the interaction with another replication factor, MUS-101. By mutation of the CDK sites in sld-2, we show that CDK phosphorylation of SLD-2 is essential in C. elegans. Finally, using a phosphomimicking sld-2 mutant, we demonstrate that timely CDK phosphorylation of SLD-2 is an important control mechanism to allow normal proliferation in the germline. These results determine an essential function of CDK in metazoa and identify a developmental role for regulated SLD-2 phosphorylation.