Buoyant density constancy of Schizosaccharomyces pombe cells

Buoyant densities of cells from exponentially growing cultures of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe 972h- with division rates from 0.14 to 0.5 per h were determined by equilibrium centrifugation in Percoll gradients. Buoyant densities were independent of growth rate, with an average value (+/- standard error) of 1.0945 (+/- 0.00037) g/ml. When cells from these cultures were separated by size, mean cell volumes were independent of buoyant density, indicating that buoyant densities also were independent of cell age during the division cycle. These results support the suggestion that most or all kinds of cells that divide by equatorial fission may have similar, evolutionarily conserved mechanisms for regulation of buoyant density.