ArticlePloS one2008
Robust spatial sensing of mating pheromone gradients by yeast cells.
Article in PloS one, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 62 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
62 citing papers in PubMed, 126 citations in OpenAlex.
- Optogenetic control of pheromone gradients and mating behavior in budding yeast.Life science alliance · 2025Article
- Amplitude and frequency encoding result in qualitatively distinct informational landscapes in cell signaling.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Information bounds on the accuracy of cell polarization.PloS one · 2025Article
- The roles of yeast formins and their regulators Bud6 and Bil2 in the pheromone response.Molecular biology of the cell · 2024Article
- Extending the reach of homology by using successive computational filters to find yeast pheromone genes.Current biology : CB · 2023Article
- Single-cell directional sensing from just a few receptor binding events.Biophysical journal · 2023Article
- Pheromone Response and Mating Behavior in Fission Yeast.Microbiology and molecular biology reviews : MMBR · 2022Review
- Fungi-on-a-Chip: microfluidic platforms for single-cell studies on fungi.FEMS microbiology reviews · 2022Review
- Engineered cell differentiation and sexual reproduction in probiotic and mating yeasts.Nature communications · 2022Article
- Mechanism of commitment to a mating partner inMolecular biology of the cell · 2022Article
- Pheromone Guidance of Polarity Site Movement in Yeast.Biomolecules · 2022Article
- Signal integration in forward and reverse neutrophil migration: Fundamentals and emerging mechanisms.Current opinion in cell biology · 2021Review
- A novel stochastic simulation approach enables exploration of mechanisms for regulating polarity site movement.PLoS computational biology · 2021Article
- Exploratory polarization facilitates mating partner selection inMolecular biology of the cell · 2021Article
- Flow-assembled chitosan membranes in microfluidics: recent advances and applications.Journal of materials chemistry. B · 2021Review
- Coordinating cell polarization and morphogenesis through mechanical feedback.PLoS computational biology · 2021Article
- Mitotic and pheromone-specific intrinsic polarization cues interfere with gradient sensing inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2020Article
- A 3D Printed Device for Easy and Reliable Quantification of Fungal Chemotropic Growth.Frontiers in microbiology · 2020Article
- Chemotropism among populations of yeast cells with spatiotemporal resolution in a biofabricated microfluidic platform.Biomicrofluidics · 2020Article
- Frontiers in Microfluidics, a Teaching Resource Review.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2019Review
2 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Projecting or moving up a chemical gradient is a universal behavior of living organisms. We tested the ability of S. cerevisiaea-cells to sense and respond to spatial gradients of the mating pheromone alpha-factor produced in a microfluidics chamber; the focus was on bar1Delta strains, which do not degrade the pheromone input. The yeast cells exhibited good accuracy with the mating projection typically pointing in the correct direction up the gradient ( approximately 80% under certain conditions), excellent sensitivity to shallow gradients, and broad dynamic range so that gradient-sensing was relatively robust over a 1000-fold range of average alpha-factor concentrations. Optimal directional sensing occurred at lower concentrations (5 nM) close to the K(d) of the receptor and with steeper gradient slopes. Pheromone supersensitive mutations (sst2Delta and ste2(300Delta)) that disrupt the down-regulation of heterotrimeric G-protein signaling caused defects in both sensing and response. Interestingly, yeast cells employed adaptive mechanisms to increase the robustness of the process including filamentous growth (i.e. directional distal budding) up the gradient at low pheromone concentrations, bending of the projection to be more aligned with the gradient, and forming a more accurate second projection when the first projection was in the wrong direction. Finally, the cells were able to amplify a shallow external gradient signal of alpha-factor to produce a dramatic polarization of signaling proteins at the front of the cell. Mathematical modeling revealed insights into the mechanism of this amplification and how the supersensitive mutants can disrupt accurate polarization. Together, these data help to specify and elucidate the abilities of yeast cells to sense and respond to spatial gradients of pheromone.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.