Abstract
The choice of mating partner by the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae involves the detection of mating pheromones produced by other yeast cells. A cell that is capable of mating deduces the position of its nearest mating partner from the spatial gradient of pheromone. While studying this process, we realized that, in the presence of many potential mating partners, the gradient might not point in the direction of the nearest partner. Here we show that degradation of some of the mating pheromone by protease enzymes helps to align the gradient in the direction of the nearest partner, which increases mating efficiency.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Jackson, C. & Hartwell, L. H. Cell 63, 1039–1051 (1990).
Jackson, C. & Hartwell, L. H. Mol. Cell. Biol. 10, 787–796 (1990).
Segall, J. E. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 90, 8332–8336 (1993).
Hicks, J. B. & Herskowitz, I. Nature 260, 246–248 (1976).
Ciejek, E. & Thorner, J. Cell 18, 623–635 (1979).
Sprague, G. F. & Herskowitz, I. J. Mol. Biol. 153, 305–321 (1981).
Chan, R. K. & Otte, C. A. Mol. Cell. Biol. 2, 11–20 (1982).
Manney, T. R. J. Bacteriol. 155, 291–301 (1983).
Steden, M., Betz, R. & Duntze, W. Mol. Gen. Genet. 219, 439–444 (1989).
Wasserman, D. & Freeman, M. Trends Cell Biol. 7, 431–436 (1997).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Barkai, N., Rose, M. & Wingreen, N. Protease helps yeast find mating partners. Nature 396, 422–423 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/24760
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/24760
This article is cited by
-
Engineered cell differentiation and sexual reproduction in probiotic and mating yeasts
Nature Communications (2022)
-
Ste2 receptor-mediated chemotropism of Fusarium graminearum contributes to its pathogenicity against wheat
Scientific Reports (2020)
-
Signal Propagation in Sensing and Reciprocating Cellular Systems with Spatial and Structural Heterogeneity
Bulletin of Mathematical Biology (2018)
-
Sensory input attenuation allows predictive sexual response in yeast
Nature Communications (2016)
-
Glucocorticoid Receptor β Acts as a Co-activator of T-Cell Factor 4 and Enhances Glioma Cell Proliferation
Molecular Neurobiology (2015)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.