In vertebrates, as in yeast, multiple cyclins have been identified, including a total of eight such regulatory proteins in mammals. In contrast to the situation in yeast, the Cdc2 p34 kinase is not the only catalytic subunit identified in vertebrates that can interact with cyclins. While Cdc2 p34 is essential for the G2 to M transition in vertebrate cells, a second Cdc2-related kinase has also been implicated in cell cycle control. This protein, designated cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (Cdk2) p33, also binds to cyclins and its kinase activity is temporally regulated during the cell cycle. Several additional Cdc2 p34-related cyclin dependent kinases have been identified. These include Cdk3-Cdk8, PCTAIRE-1-3 and KKIALRE.
