Aurora B and cyclin B have opposite effects on the timing of cytokinesis abscission in Drosophila germ cells and in vertebrate somatic cells.

Abscission is the last step of cytokinesis that physically separates the cytoplasm of sister cells. As the final stage of cell division, abscission is poorly characterized during animal development. Here, we show that Aurora B and Survivin regulate the number of germ cells in each Drosophila egg chamber by inhibiting abscission during differentiation. This inhibition is mediated by an Aurora B-dependent phosphorylation of Cyclin B, as a phosphomimic form of Cyclin B rescues premature abscission caused by a loss of function of Aurora B. We show that Cyclin B localizes at the cytokinesis bridge, where it promotes abscission. We propose that mutual inhibitions between Aurora B and Cyclin B regulate the duration of abscission and thereby the number of sister cells in each cyst. Finally, we show that inhibitions of Aurora B and Cyclin-dependent kinase 1 activity in vertebrate cells also have opposite effects on the timing of abscission, suggesting a possible conservation of these mechanisms.

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