*Department of Structural and Chemical Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1677, New York, NY 10029-6574, U.S.A.
Biochem Soc Trans. 2013 Dec;41(6):1660-5. doi: 10.1042/BST20130238.
CDKs (cyclin-dependent kinases) ensure directionality and fidelity of the eukaryotic cell division cycle. In a similar fashion, the transcription cycle is governed by a conserved subfamily of CDKs that phosphorylate Pol II (RNA polymerase II) and other substrates. A genetic model organism, the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, has yielded robust models of cell-cycle control, applicable to higher eukaryotes. From a similar approach combining classical and chemical genetics, fundamental principles of transcriptional regulation by CDKs are now emerging. In the present paper, we review the current knowledge of each transcriptional CDK with respect to its substrate specificity, function in transcription and effects on chromatin modifications, highlighting the important roles of CDKs in ensuring quantity and quality control over gene expression in eukaryotes.
CDKs（细胞周期蛋白依赖性激酶）确保了真核细胞分裂周期的方向性和保真度。以类似的方式，转录周期由一组保守的 CDK 亚家族控制，这些 CDK 亚家族磷酸化 Pol II（RNA 聚合酶 II）和其他底物。裂殖酵母 Schizosaccharomyces pombe 作为一种遗传模式生物，为细胞周期控制提供了强有力的模型，适用于高等真核生物。通过结合经典遗传学和化学遗传学的类似方法，现在正在出现 CDK 对转录的调控的基本原则。在本文中，我们回顾了每个转录 CDK 的当前知识，包括其底物特异性、在转录中的功能以及对染色质修饰的影响，强调了 CDK 在确保真核生物中基因表达的数量和质量控制方面的重要作用。
