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Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology 8, 149–160 (1 February 2007) | doi:10.1038/nrm2105

Multiple levels of cyclin specificity in cell-cycle control

Joanna Bloom & Frederick R. Cross

Cyclins regulate the cell cycle by binding to and activating cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks). Phosphorylation of specific targets by cyclin–Cdk complexes sets in motion different processes that drive the cell cycle in a timely manner. In budding yeast, a single Cdk is activated by multiple cyclins. The ability of these cyclins to target specific proteins and to initiate different cell-cycle events might, in some cases, reflect the timing of the expression of the cyclins; in others, it might reflect intrinsic properties of the cyclins that render them better suited to target particular proteins.