The initiation of cell wall synthesis in parasynchronous cultures of Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Abstract

Schizosaccharomyces pombe has been grown in parasynchronous culture to study the synthesis of cell wall material. After a lag period of 2.5h following inoculation the cells began to grow, as measured by optical density, dry weight and cell size. The cell number remained constant until 4.5h after inoculation when approximately 70% of the population divided synchronously. Immunofluorescence studies of the growing cells have shown that new wall material is inserted at the cell apices from 2.5 h after inoculation; this result is supported by radio-isotope labelling data which indicated that synthesis of new cell wall material also commenced 2.5 h after inoculation. The incorporation experiments also demonstrated an interruption in cell wall synthesis during the cell separation stage. The composition of the cell wall material varied during the growth cycle, with maximum nitrogen levels at inoculation and following cell division. No serological differences could be detected in the cell walls during the growth cycle.