Arabidopsis anaphase-promoting complexes: multiple activators and wide range of substrates might keep APC perpetually busy

Abstract

The anaphase-promoting complex (APC), a multisubunit E3 ubiquitin ligase, is an essential regulator of the cell cycle from metaphase until S phase in yeast and metazoans. APC mediates degradation of numerous cell cycle-related proteins, including mitotic cyclins and its activation and substrate-specificity are determined by two adaptor proteins, Cdc20 and Cdh1. Plants have multiple APC activators and the Cdh1-type proteins, in addition, are represented by two subclasses, known as Ccs52A and Ccs52B. The Arabidopsis genome contains five cdc20 genes as well as ccs52A1, ccs52A2 and ccs52B. In Schizosaccharomyces pombe, expression of the three Atccs52 genes elicited distinct phenotypes supporting nonredundant function of the AtCcs52 proteins. Consistent with these activities, the AtCcs52 proteins were able to bind both to the yeast and the Arabidopsis APCs. In synchronized Arabidopsis cell cultures the cdc20 transcripts were present from early G2 until the M-phase exit, ccs52B from G2/M to M while ccs52A1 and ccs52A2 were from late M until early G2, suggesting consecutive action of these APC activators in the plant cell cycle. The AtCcs52 proteins interacted with different subsets of mitotic cyclins, in accordance with their expression profiles, either in free- or CDK-bound forms. Expression of most APC subunits was constitutive, whereas cdc27a and cdc27b, corresponding to two forms of apc3, and ubc19 and ubc20 encoding E2-C type ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes displayed differences in their cell cycle regulation. These data indicate the existence of numerous APC(Cdc20/Ccs52/Cdc27) forms in Arabidopsis, which in conjunction with different E2 enzymes might have distinct or complementary functions at distinct stages of the cell cycle.