Yeast Genetics Schizosaccharomyces pombe Prof. Dr. N. F. Käufer Technische Universität Braunschweig

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	Life cycle of Schizosaccharomyces pombe

The advantage of using fission yeast as an experimental system is twofold:

1. the availability of powerful procedures of classical and molecular genetics as well as cytological and biochemical techniques and the availability of the complete genomic sequence allowing the rapid identification and characterization of mutants, and

2. the finding that many basic cellular mechanisms such as cell cycle regulation, gene expression, pre-mRNA splicing and DNA repair are closely related to mechanisms found in mammalian systems.

Schizosaccharomyces pombe has three chromosomes with a size of 5.7, 4.6 and 3.5 Mbp, respectively.The cells divide by binary fission with a doubling time of 2-4 hours. Starvation induces two haploid cells of opposite mating type to fuse and to form a zygote. The zygotes then undergo meiosis and develop into an ascus containing four spores, which are released from the ascus and grow out as haploid cell clones when nutrients are added.