A genome-wide screen to identify genes controlling the rate of entry into mitosis in fission yeast

We have carried out a haploinsufficiency (HI) screen in fission yeast using heterozygous deletion diploid mutants of a genome-wide set of cell cycle genes to identify genes encoding products whose level determines the rate of progression through the cell cycle. Cell size at division was used as a measure of advancement or delay of the G2-M transition of rod-shaped fission yeast cells. We found that 13 mutants were significantly longer or shorter (greater than 10%) than control cells at cell division. These included mutants of the cdc2, cdc25, wee1 and pom1 genes, which have previously been shown to play a role in the timing of entry into mitosis, and which validate this approach. Seven of these genes are involved in regulation of the G2-M transition, 5 for nuclear transport and one for nucleotide metabolism. In addition we identified 4 more genes that were 8-10% longer or shorter than the control that also had roles in regulation of the G2-M transition or in nuclear transport. The genes identified here are all conserved in human cells, suggesting that this dataset will be useful as a basis for further studies to identify rate-limiting steps for progression through the cell cycle in other eukaryotes.