CDK Inactivation Is the Only Essential Function of the APC/C and the Mitotic Exit Network Proteins for Origin Resetting during Mitosis

Passage through mitosis is required to reset replication origins for the subsequent S phase. During mitosis, a series of biochemical reactions involving cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs), the anaphase promoting complex or cyclosome (APC/C), and a mitotic exit network including Cdc5, 14, and 15 coordinates the proper separation and segregation of sister chromatids. Here we show that cyclin B/CDK inactivation can drive origin resetting in either early S phase or mitosis. This origin resetting occurs efficiently in the absence of APC/C function and mitotic exit network function. We conclude that CDK inactivation is the single essential event in mitosis required to allow pre-RC assembly for the next cell cycle.