ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the basic principles upon which the cell- cycle control system operates. It discusses the protein components of the control system and how they work together to time and coordinate the events of the cell cycle. A cell reproduces by performing an orderly sequence of events in which it duplicates its contents and then divides in two. This cycle of duplication and division, known as the cell cycle, is the essential mechanism by which all living things reproduce. Some features of the cell cycle, including the time required to complete certain events, vary greatly from one cell type to another, even in the same organism. A comparison of the cell cycles of fission yeasts and budding yeasts. The biochemical features of the cell cycle are readily analyzed in the giant fertilized eggs of many animals, which carry large stockpiles of the proteins needed for cell division.
