Mating of yeast

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a simple single-celled eukaryote with both a diploid and haploid mode of existence. The mating of yeast only occurs between haploids, which can be either the a or α (alpha) mating type and thus display simple sexual differentiation. Mating type is determined by a single locus, MAT, which in turn governs the sexual behaviour of both haploid and diploid cells. Through a form of genetic recombination, haploid yeast can switch mating type as often as every cell cycle. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a simple single-celled eukaryote with both a diploid and haploid mode of existence. The mating of yeast only occurs between haploids, which can be either the a or α (alpha) mating type and thus display simple sexual differentiation. Mating type is determined by a single locus, MAT, which in turn governs the sexual behaviour of both haploid and diploid cells. Through a form of genetic recombination, haploid yeast can switch mating type as often as every cell cycle. S. cerevisiae (yeast) can stably exist as either a diploid or a haploid. Both haploid and diploid yeast cells reproduce by mitosis, with daughter cells budding off of mother cells. Haploid cells are capable of mating with other haploid cells of the opposite mating type (an a cell can only mate with an α cell, and vice versa) to produce a stable diploid cell. Diploid cells, usually upon facing stressful conditions such as nutrient depletion, can undergo meiosis to produce four haploid spores: two a spores and two α spores. a cells produce ‘a-factor’, a mating pheromone which signals the presence of an a cell to neighbouring α cells. a cells respond to α-factor, the α cell mating pheromone, by growing a projection (known as a shmoo, due to its distinctive shape) towards the source of α-factor. Similarly, α cells produce α-factor, and respond to a-factor by growing a projection towards the source of the pheromone. The response of haploid cells only to the mating pheromones of the opposite mating type allows mating between a and α cells, but not between cells of the same mating type. These phenotypic differences between a and α cells are due to a different set of genes being actively transcribed and repressed in cells of the two mating types. a cells activate genes which produce a-factor and produce a cell surface receptor (Ste2) which binds to α-factor and triggers signaling within the cell. a cells also repress the genes associated with being an α cell. Similarly, α cells activate genes which produce α-factor and produce a cell surface receptor (Ste3) which binds and responds to a-factor, and α cells repress the genes associated with being an a cell. The different sets of transcriptional repression and activation which characterize a and α cells are caused by the presence of one of two alleles of a locus called MAT: MATa or MATα located on chromosome III. The MAT locus is usually divided into five regions (W, X, Y, Z1, and Z2) based on the sequences shared among the two mating types. The difference lies in the Y region (Ya and Yα), which contains most of the genes and promoters. The MATa allele of MAT encodes a gene called a1, which in haploids direct the transcription of the a-specific transcriptional program (such as expressing STE2 and repressing STE3) that defines an a cell. The MATα allele of MAT encodes the α1 and α2 genes, which in haploids direct the transcription of the α-specific transcriptional program (such as expressing STE3, repressing STE2) which causes the cell to be an α cell. S. cerevisiae has an a2 gene with no apparent function that shares much of its sequence with α2; however, other yeasts like Candida albicans do have a functional and distinct MATa2 gene. Haploid cells are one of two mating types (a or α), and respond to the mating pheromone produced by haploid cells of the opposite mating type, and can mate with cells of the opposite mating type. Haploid cells cannot undergo meiosis. Diploid cells do not produce or respond to either mating pheromone and do not mate, but can undergo meiosis to produce four haploid cells. Like the differences between haploid a and α cells, different patterns of gene repression and activation are responsible for the phenotypic differences between haploid and diploid cells. In addition to the specific a and α transcriptional patterns, haploid cells of both mating types share a haploid transcriptional pattern which activates haploid-specific genes (such as HO) and represses diploid-specific genes (such as IME1). Similarly, diploid cells activate diploid-specific genes and repress haploid-specific genes. The different gene expression patterns of haploids and diploids are again due to the MAT locus. Haploid cells only contain one copy of each of the 16 chromosomes and thus can only possess one allele of MAT (either MATa or MATα), which determines their mating type. Diploid cells result from the mating of an a cell and an α cell, and thus possess 32 chromosomes (in 16 pairs), including one chromosome bearing the MATa allele and another chromosome bearing the MATα allele. The combination of the information encoded by the MATa allele (the a1 gene) and the MATα allele (the α1 and α2 genes) triggers the diploid transcriptional program. Similarly, the presence of only a single allele of MAT, whether it is MATa or MATα, triggers the haploid transcriptional program.