Abstract
A novel murine gene, designated ayk1, which encodes a putative serine/threonine kinase has been cloned and characterized. The predicted catalytic domain of the protein is highly similar to that of Drosophila aurora (62.9% identity), and to that of Saccharomyces Ipl1 (49.4% identity). All three proteins also have very basic calculated isoelectric points (higher than 10). aurora has been recently shown to be crucial for centrosome separation and chromosome segregation, while Ipl1 is essential for yeast viability and accurate chromosome segregation. The results of Northern analysis and in situ RNA localization support a similar role for ayk1. The gene is specifically expressed in meiotically active cells, and during spermatogenesis, ayk1 transcripts accumulate just before the first meiotic division. Much lower levels are found in mitotically active cells. We propose that Ayk1, aurora and Ipl1 belong to a distinct new subfamily of kinases. These results suggest that the pathways controlling chromosome segregation are evolutionary conserved, and that similar control mechanisms operate in mitosis and meiosis.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 50 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $5.18 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yanai, A., Arama, E., Kilfin, G. et al. ayk1, a novel mammalian gene related to Drosophila aurora centrosome separation kinase, is specifically expressed during meiosis. Oncogene 14, 2943–2950 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1201144
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1201144
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
Cell division: control of the chromosomal passenger complex in time and space
Chromosoma (2014)
-
Degradation of human Aurora2 protein kinase by the anaphase-promoting complex-ubiquitin-proteasome pathway
Oncogene (2000)
-
The mitotic serine/threonine kinase Aurora2/AIK is regulated by phosphorylation and degradation
Oncogene (2000)
-
Molecular cloning and expression analysis of a novel human cDNA fragment encoding a putative Ser/Thr protein kinase
Chinese Science Bulletin (1999)
-
Tumour amplified kinase STK15/BTAK induces centrosome amplification, aneuploidy and transformation
Nature Genetics (1998)