The Fission Yeast Mating-Type Switching Motto: "One-for-Two" and "Two-for-One"

Schizosaccharomyces pombe is an ascomycete fungus that divides by medial fission; it is thus commonly referred to as fission yeast, as opposed to the distantly related budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The reproductive lifestyle of S. pombe relies on an efficient genetic sex determination syst...

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Published inMicrobiology and Molecular Biology Reviews Vol. 87; no. 1; p. e0000821
Main Authors Arcangioli, Benoît, Gangloff, Serge
Format Journal Article Publication
LanguageEnglish
Published United States American Society for Microbiology 21.03.2023
SeriesSex in Fungi
Subjects
Chromatin
Conjugation
Diploids
DNA biosynthesis
DNA repair
DNA Replication
Environmental conditions
Epigenetics
Fission
Genetics and Molecular Biology
Heterochromatin
Life Sciences
Mating
Mating types
Meiosis
Recombination
Reproduction - genetics
Reproductive Biology
Review
Saccharomyces cerevisiae - genetics
Schizosaccharomyces - genetics
Schizosaccharomyces - metabolism
Sex
Sex determination
Sex ratio
Sexual reproduction
Special Series: Sex in Fungi
Switching
Yeast
Yeasts
DNA replication
fission yeast
DNA recombination
heterochromatin
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Summary:Schizosaccharomyces pombe is an ascomycete fungus that divides by medial fission; it is thus commonly referred to as fission yeast, as opposed to the distantly related budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The reproductive lifestyle of S. pombe relies on an efficient genetic sex determination system generating a 1:1 sex ratio and using alternating haploid/diploid phases in response to environmental conditions. In this review, we address how one haploid cell manages to generate two sister cells with opposite mating types, a prerequisite to conjugation and meiosis. This mating-type switching process depends on two highly efficient consecutive asymmetric cell divisions that rely on DNA replication, repair, and recombination as well as the structure and components of heterochromatin. We pay special attention to the intimate interplay between the genetic and epigenetic partners involved in this process to underscore the importance of basic research and its profound implication for a better understanding of chromatin biology.
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The authors declare no conflict of interest.
ISSN:1092-2172
1098-5557
DOI:10.1128/mmbr.00008-21