Embryonic onset of late replication requires Cdc25 down-regulation

The Drosophila midblastula transition (MBT), a major event in embryogenesis, remodels and slows the cell cycle. In the pre-MBT cycles, all genomic regions replicate simultaneously in rapid S phases that alternate with mitosis, skipping gap phases. At the MBT, down-regulation of Cdc25 phosphatase and the resulting inhibitory phosphorylation of the mitotic kinase Cdk1 create a G2 pause in interphase 14. However, an earlier change in interphase 14 is the prolongation of S phase. While the signals modifying S phase are unknown, the onset of late replication—where replication of constitutively heterochromatic satellite sequences is delayed—extends S-phase 14. We injected Cdc25 mRNA to bypass the developmentally programmed down-regulation of Cdc25 at the MBT. Introduction of either Cdc25 isoform (String or Twine) or enhanced Cdk1 activity triggered premature replication of late-replicating sequences, even after their specification, and thereby shortened S phase. Reciprocally, reduction of Cdk1 activity by knockdown of mitotic cyclins extended pre-MBT S phase. These findings suggest that high Cdc25 and Cdk1 contribute to the speed of the rapid, pre-MBT S phases and that down-regulation of these activities plays a broader role in MBT-associated changes than was previously suspected.