Polo-like kinase
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Polo-like kinases (Plks) are regulatory serine/threonine kinases of the cell cycle involved in mitotic entry, mitotic exit, spindle formation, cytokinesis, and meiosis.[1] Only one Plk is found in the genomes of the fly Drosophila melanogaster (Polo), budding yeast (Cdc5) and fission yeast (Plo1).[1] Vertebrates and other animals, however, have many Plk family members including Plk1 (Xenopus Plx1), Plk2/Snk (Xenopus Plx2), Plk3/Prk/FnK (Xenopus Plx3), Plk4/Sak and Plk5.[1] Of the vertebrate Plk family members, the mammalian Plk1 has been most extensively studied. During mitosis and cytokinesis, Plks associate with several structures including the centrosome, kinetochores, and the central spindle.