Oscillator for centriole formation

Abstract

Cell Biology Cells are not just bags of enzymes –their functions are orchestrated by organelles. Centrioles, for example, function in cell division and organization of the mitotic spindle and duplicate in coordination with the cell cycle. Centriole formation seems to be governed by an oscillator that controls the localization and activity of Polo-like kinase 4, the master regulator of centriole biogenesis. Working with the results of experiments in fruit fly embryos, Aydogan et al. used a mathematical model to show that this oscillator controls centriole biogenesis independently of the cell cycle oscillator. This model also explains homeostasis of centriole size. Other organelles may also use such oscillators to time the initiation and duration of growth, and it is possible that circadian and cell cycle oscillators entrain the local organelle-controlling oscillators. Cell 181 , 1566 (2020).