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Updated: Aug 14, 2026

Manipulation and Analysis of Cell Cycle-Dependent Processes in Budding Yeast
Published on: September 26, 2025
Does yeast shmooing mean a commitment to apoptosis?
Renata Zadrag1, Leszek Wojnar, Grzegorz Bartosz
1Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, University of Rzeszów, ul. Rejtana 16C, 35-959 Rzeszów, Poland.
Abstract:
Treatment of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae with alpha-pheromone has been reported to lead to massive apoptosis of cells finding no conjugation partner [Severin FF, Hyman AA. Pheromone induces programmed cell death in S. cerevisiae. Curr Biol 2002;12:R233-5]. We report here that this effect is not common in yeast. Using different yeast strains, we demonstrate that identical treatment results in a low mortality even after prolonged treatment with the pheromone. These findings are followed by a general discussion of the biological relevance of apoptosis in yeast.
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