Ectopic D-type cyclin expression induces not only DNA replication but also cell division in Arabidopsis trichomes.

Although the mechanisms controlling the two cell-cycle checkpoints G(1)-S and G(2)-M are well studied, it remains elusive how they are linked in higher eukaryotes. In animals, D-type cyclins have been implicated in the control of cell-cycle progression in mitotic as well as in endoreduplicating cells. By contrast, we show that the expression of the D-type cyclin CYCD3;1 in endoreduplicating Arabidopsis trichome cells not only induced DNA replication but also cell divisions.