| Summary: | Meiosis is a specialized cell division process that mediates genetic information transfer to the next generation. Meiotic chromosomal segregation occurs when DNA replication is completed during the pre-meiotic S phase. Here, we show that <i>Schizosaccharomyces pombe</i> Pef1, an orthologue of mammalian cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5), is required to promote pre-meiotic DNA replication. We examined the efficiency of meiotic initiation using <i>pat1-114</i> mutants and found that, meiotic nuclear divisions did not occur in the <i>pef1Δ pat1-114</i> strain. Deletion of <i>pef1 </i>also suppressed the expression of DNA replication factors and the phosphorylation of Cdc2 Tyr-15. The double deletion of <i>clg1</i> and <i>psl1</i> arrested meiotic initiation in <i>pat1-114</i> mutant cells, similar to that of <i>pef1</i>-deficient cells. Meiotic progression was also slightly delayed in the <i>pas1</i>-deficient strain. Our results reveal that Pef1 regulates cyclin-coordinated meiotic progression.
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