Study of cell wall permeability properties of synchronous Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells in different phases of cell cycle

Abstract

This report presents the results obtained during investigation of the relationship between permeability properties of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells which were synchronized to the S- or M-phases by treating them with hydroxyurea (HU, 10 mM) and colchicin (1 μg/ml), respectively. Permeability properties of the yeast strain p63-DC5 as the accumulation of the tetraphenylphosphonium cation (TPP+) were measured by a TPP-selective electrode. The results obtained have shown that the amount of lipophilic cations accumulated by yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells was different and depended on the phase of cell cycle. The results indicate existence of a subpopulation of budded celės with a higher permeability of cells to tetraphenylphosphonium cations, and this increased rate of TPP+ accumulation was associated with a particular S-phase, which exhibits physiological and permeability properties different from those of other cells. Keywords: Saccharomyces cerevisiae, cell cycle, permeability, lipid-soluble ions (LSI), lipophilic cations (LC), tetraphenylphosphonium (TPP+)