Olomoucine, an inhibitor of the cdc2/cdk2 kinases activity, blocks plant cells at the G1 to S and G2 to M cell cycle transitions

• Published in: FEBS letters 1994-10, Vol.353 (2), p.207-211
• Main Authors: Glab, Nathalie, Labidi, Brahim, Qin, Li-Xian, Trehin, Christophe, Bergounioux, Catherine, Meijer, Laurent
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aphidicolin; Arabidopsis; Arabidopsis - cytology; Arabidopsis thaliana; Bisbenzimidazole; Bromodeoxyuridine - metabolism; cdc2; CDC2 Protein Kinase - antagonists & inhibitors; CDC2-CDC28 Kinases; cdk2; Cell cycle; Cell Cycle - drug effects; Cells, Cultured; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2; Cyclin-Dependent Kinases; G1 Phase - drug effects; G2 Phase - drug effects; Kinetin; Mitosis - drug effects; Olomoucine; Oryzalin; Petunia; Petunia hybrida; Plant Cells; Plants - drug effects; Propidium; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases - antagonists & inhibitors; Purines - pharmacology; S Phase - drug effects; Staining and Labeling
• ISSN: 0014-5793; 1873-3468
• DOI: 10.1016/0014-5793(94)01035-8

The cdc2/cdk2 protein kinases play key roles in the cell cycle at two control points: the G1/S transition and the entry into mitosis. Olomoucine, a specific inhibitor of these kinases, was tested in two plant cell systems: Petunia mesophyll protoplasts induced to divide and Arabidopsis thaliana cell suspension cultures. The cell cycle status was analysed from DNA histograms or through continuous labelling of cells with 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdUrd) followed by double staining with bis-benzimide (Hoechst 33258) and propidium iodide (PI). Such analyses resolve cells from several generations according to the extent of their DNA replication. Olomoucine was shown to reversibly arrest differentiated Petunia cells induced to divide at G1 phase and cycling Arabidopsis cells in late G1 and G2. A comparison of the effects of aphidicolin, oryzalin and olomoucine suggests that in the Arabidopsis cell suspension culture, a cdc2/cdk2-like kinase is activated at a restriction point in late G1.