The Yeast Spore Wall Enables Spores to Survive Passage through the Digestive Tract of Drosophila

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 3; no. 8; p. e2873
• Main Authors: Coluccio, Alison E., Rodriguez, Rachael K., Kernan, Maurice J., Neiman, Aaron M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 06.08.2008; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Animals; Ascospores; Baking yeast; Biochemistry; Biology; Cell Wall - physiology; Cell walls; Digestive System - microbiology; Digestive tract; Drosophila; Drosophila - microbiology; Drosophila - physiology; Drosophila melanogaster; Ecology/Evolutionary Ecology; Environmental stress; Evolutionary Biology; Gastrointestinal tract; Genetics; Genetics and Genomics; Insects; Laboratories; Metabolism; Neurosciences; Predation; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Saccharomyces cerevisiae - physiology; Schizosaccharomyces pombe; Spores; Spores, Fungal - cytology; Spores, Fungal - physiology; Survival; Taxonomy; Vectors; Yeast; Yeasts; New York; United States > US
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0002873

In nature, yeasts are subject to predation by flies of the genus Drosophila. In response to nutritional starvation Saccharomyces cerevisiae differentiates into a dormant cell type, termed a spore, which is resistant to many types of environmental stress. The stress resistance of the spore is due primarily to a spore wall that is more elaborate than the vegetative cell wall. We report here that S. cerevisiae spores survive passage through the gut of Drosophila melanogaster. Constituents of the spore wall that distinguish it from the vegetative cell wall are necessary for this resistance. Ascospores of the distantly related yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe also display resistance to digestion by D. melanogaster. These results suggest that the primary function of the yeast ascospore is as a cell type specialized for dispersion by insect vectors.