The cdr2+ gene encodes a regulator of G2/M progression and cytokinesis in Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Schizosaccharomyces pombe cells respond to nutrient deprivation by altering G(2)/M cell size control. The G(2)/M transition is controlled by activation of the cyclin-dependent kinase Cdc2p. Cdc2p activation is regulated both positively and negatively, cdr2(+) was identified in a screen for regulators of mitotic control during nutrient deprivation. We have cloned cdr2(+) and have found that it encodes a putative serine-threonine protein kinase that is related to Saccharomyces cerevisiae Gin4p and S, pombe Cdr1p/Nim1p. cdr2(+) is not essential for viability, but cells lacking cdr2(+) are elongated relative to wild-type cells, spending a longer period of time in G(2). Because of this property, upon nitrogen deprivation cdr2(+) mutants do not arrest in G(1), but rather undergo another round of S phase and arrest in G(2) from which they are able to enter a state of quiescence. Genetic evidence suggests that cdr2(+) acts as a mitotic inducer, functioning through wee1(+), and is also important for the completion of cytokinesis at 36 degrees C. Defects in cytokinesis are also generated by the overproduction of Cdr2p, but these defects are independent of wee1(+), suggesting that cdr2(+) encodes a second activity involved in cytokinesis.