Divide and differentiate

Abstract

The elegant choreography of metazoan development demands exquisite regulation of cell-division timing, orientation, and asymmetry. In this review, we discuss studies in Drosophila and C. elegans that reveal how the cell cycle machinery, comprised of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) and cyclins functions as a master regulator of development. We provide examples of how CDK/cyclins: (1) regulate the asymmetric localization and timely destruction of cell fate determinants; (2) couple signaling to the control of cell division orientation; and (3) maintain mitotic zones for stem cell proliferation. These studies illustrate how the core cell cycle machinery should be viewed not merely as an engine that drives the cell cycle forward, but rather as a dynamic regulator that integrates the cell-division cycle with cellular differentiation, ensuring the coherent and faithful execution of developmental programs.

Keywords: :

• CDK
• cyclin E
• asymmetric cell division
• stem cell niche
• C. elegans
• Drosophila

Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest

No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Acknowledgments

We thank Dr Darryl Conte for critical reading of the manuscript and helpful comments, Dr David Lambright for help with Figure 2, and NIH and HHMI for funding. We also apologize to authors whose work could not be cited.