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Updated: Jan 26, 2026
07:47
Microscopy of Fission Yeast Sexual Lifecycle
Published on: March 9, 2016
15.2K
Fission yeast cells grow approximately exponentially
Mary Pickering1, Lauren Nicole Hollis1, Edridge D'Souza1
1a Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology , University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester , MA , USA.
Cell Cycle (Georgetown, Tex.)
|April 9, 2019
Summary
Cell size influences growth rate. Researchers found exponential growth is a robust approximation for fission yeast, excluding bilinear growth over extended cell cycles.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Microbiology
- Genetics
Background:
- Cell size significantly impacts cell growth rate, a fundamental question in cell biology.
- The relationship between cell size and growth rate has been modeled as exponential or bilinear growth.
- Distinguishing between these models in fission yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe) is challenging due to inherent noise and similar growth curves over a normal cell cycle.
Purpose of the Study:
- To definitively determine the mode of cell growth in fission yeast.
- To differentiate between exponential and bilinear growth models under extended cell cycle conditions.
- To assess the validity of exponential growth as an approximation for fission yeast cell proliferation.
Main Methods:
- High-resolution time-lapse microscopy was employed to observe fission yeast cell growth.
- Cells were artificially induced to grow beyond a typical two-fold increase by prolonging the G2 phase for up to 8 hours.
- Quantitative analysis compared observed growth patterns against predicted exponential and bilinear models.
Main Results:
- Over extended growth periods (up to 5.5-fold increase in size), distinct differences emerged between observed growth and the bilinear model.
- Bilinear growth was confidently excluded as a general model for fission yeast cell growth.
- While not perfectly matching simple exponential predictions, exponential growth was confirmed as a robust approximation for fission yeast.
Conclusions:
- Fission yeast cell growth is better approximated by an exponential model than a bilinear one, even under conditions of extended growth.
- The study provides strong evidence against bilinear growth as a universal mechanism in fission yeast.
- Exponential growth serves as a reliable approximation for understanding fission yeast cell proliferation dynamics.
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