Abstract:
An evolutionarily conserved family of cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks) regulates cell cycle progression in eukaryotes. Mitosis-promoting factor (MPF) is a transiently activated Cdk required for mitosis. We propose use of partially purified MPF kinase activity as a sensitive marker of cell proliferation in marine teleost larvae and describe a quantitative spin-filter assay of suc1-precipitated MPF activity. MPF extracted from embryos and larvae of red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus, phosphorylated histone H1 protein and a Cdk-specific peptide substrate. Kinetic analyses demonstrated that apparent K m values of red drum MPF for adenosine triphosphate and the peptide substrate were 98.3 and 18.2 μM, respectively. A simple growth experiment showed that MPF activity was significantly greater in rapidly growing red drum larvae than in intermittently fed cohorts growing more slowly.
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Received July 23, 1998; accepted January 14, 1999
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Westerman, M., Holt, G. & DiMichele, L. Quantitative Assay of Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Activity As a Sensitive Marker of Cell Proliferation in Marine Teleost Larvae. Mar. Biotechnol. 1, 297–310 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/PL00011779
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/PL00011779