DOE Human Genome Program Contractor-Grantee Workshop VIII
February 27-March 2, 2000  Santa Fe, NM

114. The Transcriptional Program of Gametogenesis in Budding Yeast

Ira Herskowitz

Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-0448

ira@cgl.ucsf.edu

Gametogenesis in yeast is the process whereby diploid cells of the a/alpha cell type undergo meiosis and form spores. Sporulation is initiated only when two conditions are met: cells are of the appropriate cell type (a/alpha), and cells receive the appropriate environmental stimulus (nutritional starvation). Under these conditions, a developmental program is initiated in which the following events occur: chromsomes are duplicated; then the chromosomes align and recombine with each other. After successful alignment and recombination, the duplicated sister chomatids are separated from each other (the first meiotic division). Next, the sister chromatids are separated from each other (the second meiotic division). Finally, the separated sets of chromosomes (a haploid set) are wrapped up in spores. The end result of sporulation is production of four haploid spores encased in a single sac.