Abstract
The top-view, two-dimensional spatial patterning of non-uniform growth in a Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast colony is considered. Experimental images are processed to obtain data sets that provide spatial information on the cell-area that is occupied by the colony. A method is developed that allows for the analysis of the spatial distribution with three metrics. The growth of the colony is quantified in both the radial direction from the centre of the colony and in the angular direction in a prescribed outer region of the colony. It is shown that during the period of 100–200 hours from the start of the growth of the colony there is an increasing amount of non-uniform growth. The statistical framework outlined in this work provides a platform for comparative quantitative assays of strain-specific mechanisms, with potential implementation in inferencing algorithms used for parameter-rate estimation.
Highlights
Many strains of the bread, wine and ale yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae are dimorphic, which means they are able to grow either by the budding of single cells or as multicellular filaments called pseudohyphae [Fig. 1]
In nutrient-depleted environments, it is commonly observed that strains of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae forage by the mechanisms of filamentous and invasive growth
How do we quantify this spatial patterning of outward growth from a yeast colony? Previous studies have primarily relied on measuring the amount of growth, but do not take into account the spatial distribution of this highly non-uniform process
Summary
Many strains of the bread, wine and ale yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae are dimorphic, which means they are able to grow either by the budding of single cells or as multicellular filaments called pseudohyphae [Fig. 1]. It is thought that the pseudohyphae perform an adaptive function, enabling non-motile S. cerevisiae to forage for new growth substrates in a nutritionally poor environment. Much is known about the genetic control of pseudohyphal growth and quantitative assessments of the phenotype have been made in order to screen the library of S. cerevisiae singlegene deletion mutants for genes involved in filament formation [4].
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