Induction of sexual agglutination by mating pheromone.

Abstract

<p>(A) Illustration of mating pheromone signaling in <i>S. pombe</i>. The pheromone signal is transmitted through trimeric G-protein α-subunit and the mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade, comprising Byr2, Byr1 and Spk1. The signal transmission pathway is common to both M- and P-cells [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0069491#B22" target="_blank">22</a>]. (B) The defect in sexual agglutination of the M-factor-less mutant was recovered by exogenously added synthetic M-factor. The homothallic strain FS55 was treated with synthetic M-factor for 4 hr in SSL−N. The agglutination index (AI) was determined for triplicate samples. Means with standard deviations are presented. A portion of each culture was incubated for 24 hr, and the frequency of zygotes was counted. At least 1,000 cells were examined for each sample. (C) Exogenous P-factor addition enhanced constitutive agglutination in a homothallic P-factor-less strain (FS251). At least 500 cells were observed for each sample.</p