Phenotypic Assays of Cyclin/CDK Function

It is now clearly established that orderly progression through the eukaryotic cell cycle is due todependent protein kinase (CDK) activity. Recently, it has become apparent that a number of mutationsare in, or directly affect the activity of, cell cycle control genes. The research will develop, forassays for cyclin-CDK function in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In Phase I, yeast strains in wexpressed from promoters which respond to the activity of a yeast cyclin-CDK will be constructed. Thwill provide a quantitative measure of cyclin-CDK function. The neo reporter gene will be used to asfunction, as well as provide a selection (G418 resistance) for loss of function mutants in either thcyclin binding domain of the yeast CDK will be mapped using the technology developed in Phase I. Becconservation of molecular mechanisms, including cell cycle control, between yeast cells and human cethe technology developed during Phase I can be adapted to the study of human cyclin-CDK function.