While entry into mitosis is triggered by activation of cdc2 kinase, exit from mitosis requires inactivation of this kinase. Inactivation results from proteolytic degradation of the regulatory cyclin subunits during mitosis. At least three different cyclin types, cyclins A, B and B3, associate with cdc2 kinase in higher eukaryotes and are sequentially degraded in mitosis. We show here that mutations in the Drosophila gene fizzy (fzy) block the mitotic degradation of these cyclins.Moreover, expression of mutant cyclins (Acyclins) lacking the destruction box motif required for mitotic degradation affects mitotic progression at distinct stages. Acyclin A results in a delay in metaphase, Acyclin B in an early anaphase arrest and Acyclin B3 in a late anaphase arrest, suggesting that mitotic progression beyond metaphase is ordered by the sequential degradation of these different cycfins. Coexpression of Acyclins A, B and B3 allows a delayed separation of sister chromosomes, but interferes with chromosome segregation to the poles. Mutations infzy block both sister chromosome separation and segregation, indicating that fzy plays a crucial role in the metaphase/anaphase transition.

Mammalian cyclin D–Cdk4 complexes have been characterized as growth factor‐responsive cell cycle regulators. Their levels rise upon growth factor stimulation, and they can phosphorylate and thus neutralize Retinoblastoma (Rb) family proteins to promote an E2F‐dependent transcriptional program and S‐phase entry. Here we characterize the in vivo function of Drosophila Cyclin D (CycD). We find that Drosophila CycD–Cdk4 does not act as a direct G1/S‐phase regulator, but instead promotes cellular growth (accumulation of mass). The cellular response to CycD–Cdk4‐driven growth varied according to cell type. In undifferentiated proliferating wing imaginal cells, CycD–Cdk4 caused accelerated cell division (hyperplasia) without affecting cell cycle phasing or cell size. In endoreplicating salivary gland cells, CycD–Cdk4 caused excessive DNA replication and cell enlargement (hypertrophy). In differentiating eyes, CycD–Cdk4 caused cell enlargement (hypertrophy) in post‐mitotic cells. Interaction tests with a Drosophila Rb homolog, RBF, indicate that CycD–Cdk4 can counteract the cell cycle suppressive effects of RBF, but that its growth promoting activity is mediated at least in part via other targets.

Cyclin B3 has been conserved during higher eukaryote evolution as evidenced by its identification in chicken, nematodes, and insects. We demonstrate that Cyclin B3 is present in addition to Cyclins A and B in mitotically proliferating cells and not detectable in endoreduplicating tissues of Drosophila embryos. Cyclin B3 is coimmunoprecipitated with Cdk1(Cdc2) but not with Cdk2(Cdc2c). It is degraded abruptly during mitosis like Cyclins A and B. In contrast to these latter cyclins, which accumulate predominantly in the cytoplasm during interphase, Cyclin B3 is a nuclear protein. Genetic analyses indicate functional redundancies. Double and triple mutant analyses demonstrate that Cyclins A, B, and B3 cooperate to regulate mitosis, but surprisingly single mutants reveal that neither Cyclin B3 nor Cyclin B is required for mitosis. However, both are required for female fertility and Cyclin B also for male fertility.

Complexes of D-type cyclins and cdk4 or 6 are thought to govern progression through the G(1) phase of the cell cycle. In Drosophila, single genes for Cyclin D and Cdk4 have been identified, simplifying genetic analysis. Here, we show that Drosophila Cdk4 interacts with Cyclin D and the Rb homolog RBF as expected, but is not absolutely essential. Flies homozygous for null mutations develop to the adult stage and are fertile, although only to a very limited degree. Overexpression of inactive mutant Cdk4, which is able to bind Cyclin D, does not enhance the Cdk4 mutant phenotype, confirming the absence of additional Cyclin D-dependent cdks. Our results indicate, therefore, that progression into and through the cell cycle can occur in the absence of Cdk4. However, the growth of cells and of the organism is reduced in Cdk4 mutants, indicating a role of D-type cyclin-dependent protein kinases in the modulation of growth rates.

Entry into S phase of the mitotic cell cycle is normally strictly dependent on progression through the preceding M phase. In contrast, during endoreduplication, which accompanies post-mitotic cell growth in many organisms, repeated S phases occur without intervening M phases. Upon transition from mitotic to endoreduplication cycles in Drosophila embryos, expression of the mitotic cyclins A, B and B3 is terminated and Cyclin E expression is changed from a continuous into a periodic mode [1-3]. Here, we address whether these changes in cyclin expression are required for endoreduplication by continuously expressing Cyclin A, B, B3 or E in the salivary glands of Drosophila throughout late embryonic and larval development. With the exception of Cyclin A, expression of which inhibited endoreduplication effectively but only in a few, apparently randomly distributed, cells of the salivary gland, mitotic cyclin expression was found to have no effect. In contrast, Cyclin E expression resulted in a striking inhibition of endoreduplication and growth, preceded initially by an ectopic S phase occurring just after the onset of ectopic Cyclin E expression. This observation is consistent with our previous findings that Cyclin E is required, and pulses of ectopic expression are sufficient, for triggering endoreduplication S phases [4]. Our results indicate that Cyclin E activity, which triggers DNA replication, needs to be down-regulated to allow a subsequent S phase in vivo.