The Biogenesis and Survival of Vegetative, Quiescent Yeast Cells

University Of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM

Investigators

Abstract

Quiescence is a poorly understood but universal state of cells on earth. Quiescent cells, from unculturable microbes to M. tuberculosis and stem cells, play important roles in the survival of all species. Dr. Werner-Washburne and co-workers have recently discovered that when yeast colonies exhaust glucose, cells in the culture undergo an asymmetric cell division leading to the production of a quiescent daughter cell and non-quiescent mother cell. The physiological and morphological differences between the quiescent and non-quiescent cells are remarkable and are reminiscent of the differentiation seen in the production of other quiescent cells, such as neurons and stem cells. This research project will examine the cell division after glucose exhaustion through a time-course analysis of changes in mRNA transcript abundance and identification of genes required for this process. mRNA will be studied using oligonucleotide-based microarrays. Genes required for the formation and survival of quiescent and non-quiescent cells will be identified using a yeast deletion set composed of approximately 6000 yeast strains, each carrying a deletion in a specific gene. Characterization of the changes in mRNA levels and mutants will lead to a better understanding of the development of vegetative, quiescent yeast cells. It will also lead to a better understanding of the evolutionary conservation of this asymmetric cell division and, thus, the role of this cell division in the production of quiescent cells in all organisms. The broader impact of this work comes from the cross-disciplinary interactions in the Werner-Washburne laboratory, with close collaborations in computer sciences and math, and from training of students from under-represented groups at the undergraduate, graduate and post doctoral levels.