Morphology, cell division, and viability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae at high hydrostatic pressure

Abstract

High hydrostatic pressure is commonly encountered in many environments, but the effects of high pressure on eukaryotic cells have been understudied. To understand the effects of hydrostatic pressure in the model eukaryote, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we have performed quantitative experiments of cell division, cell morphology, and cell death under a wide range of pressures. We developed an automated image analysis method for quantification of the yeast budding index - a measure of cell cycle state - as well as a continuum model of budding to investigate the effect of pressure on cell division and cell morphology. We find that the budding index, the average cell size, and the eccentricity - a measure of how much the cell morphology varies from the being elliptical - of the cells decrease with increasing pressure. Furthermore, high hydrostatic pressure led to the small but finite probability of cell death via both apoptosis and necrosis. Our experiments suggest that decrease of budding index arises from cellular arrest or death at the cell cycle checkpoints during different stages of cell division.