Selective spore survival during replica-plating of fission yeast

Vegetative cells of Schizosaccharomyces pombe, upon exposure to acetone vapours, are inactivated at a faster rate than ascospores of this yeast. This observation has been used to develop a simple and fast method by which colonies can be replica-plated and only spores survive in the replicas. The colony patterns are exposed to acetone while still on the velvet used for replica-plating.