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Defining the role of Emi1 in the DNA replication–segregation cycle

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Abstract

Ordered progression through the cell cycle is essential to maintain genomic stability, and fundamental to this is ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis. In particular, the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) ubiquitin ligase destabilises specific regulators at defined times in the cycle to ensure that each round of DNA replication is followed by cell division. Thus, the proper regulation of the APC/C is crucial in each cell cycle. There are several APC/C regulators that restrict its activity to specific cell cycle phases, and amongst these the early mitotic inhibitor 1 (Emi1) protein has recently come to prominence. Emi1 has been proposed to control APC/C in early mitosis; however, recent evidence questions this role. In this review we discuss new evidence that indicates that Emi1 is essential to restrict APC/C activity in interphase and, by doing so, ensure the proper coordination between DNA replication and mitosis.

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Acknowledgments

Barbara Di Fiore was supported by the International Association for Research on Cancer (World Health Organization) and a long-term fellowship from the European Molecular Biology Organization. Research in Jonathon Pines’ laboratory is funded by a programme grant from Cancer Research UK.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wellcome Trust/Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute of Cancer and Developmental Biology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1QN, UK

    Barbara Di Fiore & Jonathon Pines

  2. Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Barbara Di Fiore & Jonathon Pines

Authors
  1. Barbara Di Fiore
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  2. Jonathon Pines
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Correspondence to Barbara Di Fiore or Jonathon Pines.

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Communicated by E.A. Nigg

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Di Fiore, B., Pines, J. Defining the role of Emi1 in the DNA replication–segregation cycle. Chromosoma 117, 333–338 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00412-008-0152-x

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