Three-dimensional analysis of morphogenesis induced by mating pheromone α factor in saccharomyces cerevisiae

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Abstract
Ultrastructural analyses of cytoplasmic changes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae X2180-1A (MATa) that had been treated with α factor were performed by using the freeze-substitution fixation method. After α factor treatment, cells exhibited a pointed projection, which is a unique pattern of oriented cell surface growth. The relationship between projection formation and intracellular organelles was examined using serial thin sections and computer-aided three-dimensional reconstructions. Using these analyses membrane vesicles and other organ-elles were detected, and studies on their dynamic structural reorganization became feasible. Production of membrane vesicles (average 65 nm in diameter) was induced upon exposure of the cells to afactor before projection emergence. The total number of membrane vesicles increased at the early stage and decreased at the late stage of projection formation. Three-dimensional analysis indicated that the vesicles were at first dispersed throughout the cell, then accumulated at the site where the projection formed. Morphological changes and multiplication of the Golgi body were seen during the process of projection formation. Other intracellular organelles (nucleus, vacuole, rough endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria) were also rearranged, showing a polar organization of the cytoplasm during projection formation.