APC/CFzr/Cdh1 promotes cell cycle progression during the Drosophila endocycle

Development. 2008 Apr;135(8):1451-61. doi: 10.1242/dev.016295. Epub 2008 Mar 5.

Abstract

The endocycle is a commonly observed variant cell cycle in which cells undergo repeated rounds of DNA replication with no intervening mitosis. How the cell cycle machinery is modified to transform a mitotic cycle into endocycle has long been a matter of interest. In both plants and animals, the transition from the mitotic cycle to the endocycle requires Fzr/Cdh1, a positive regulator of the Anaphase-Promoting Complex/Cyclosome (APC/C). However, because many of its targets are transcriptionally downregulated upon entry into the endocycle, it remains unclear whether the APC/C functions beyond the mitotic/endocycle boundary. Here, we report that APC/C Fzr/Cdh1 activity is required to promote the G/S oscillation of the Drosophila endocycle. We demonstrate that compromising APC/C activity, after cells have entered the endocycle, inhibits DNA replication and results in the accumulation of multiple APC/C targets, including the mitotic cyclins and Geminin. Notably, our data suggest that the activity of APC/C Fzr/Cdh1 during the endocycle is not continuous but is cyclic, as demonstrated by the APC/C-dependent oscillation of the pre-replication complex component Orc1. Taken together, our data suggest a model in which the cyclic activity of APC/C Fzr/Cdh1 during the Drosophila endocycle is driven by the periodic inhibition of Fzr/Cdh1 by Cyclin E/Cdk2. We propose that, as is observed in mitotic cycles, during endocycles, APC/C Fzr/Cdh1 functions to reduce the levels of the mitotic cyclins and Geminin in order to facilitate the relicensing of DNA replication origins and cell cycle progression.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural

MeSH terms

  • Anaphase-Promoting Complex-Cyclosome
  • Animals
  • Animals, Genetically Modified
  • Cdh1 Proteins
  • Cell Cycle / genetics
  • Cell Cycle / physiology*
  • Cell Cycle Proteins / genetics
  • Cell Cycle Proteins / metabolism*
  • Cytoskeletal Proteins / genetics
  • Cytoskeletal Proteins / metabolism*
  • DNA Replication
  • Down-Regulation
  • Drosophila / cytology*
  • Drosophila / genetics
  • Drosophila / metabolism*
  • Drosophila Proteins / genetics
  • Drosophila Proteins / metabolism*
  • Female
  • Genes, Insect
  • Mitosis
  • Models, Biological
  • Origin Recognition Complex / genetics
  • Origin Recognition Complex / metabolism
  • Ubiquitin-Protein Ligase Complexes / genetics
  • Ubiquitin-Protein Ligase Complexes / metabolism*

Substances

  • APC protein, Drosophila
  • Cdh1 Proteins
  • Cell Cycle Proteins
  • Cytoskeletal Proteins
  • Drosophila Proteins
  • Orc1 protein, Drosophila
  • Origin Recognition Complex
  • fzr protein, Drosophila
  • Ubiquitin-Protein Ligase Complexes
  • Anaphase-Promoting Complex-Cyclosome