Studies on the cytological structure of yeast: electron microscopy of thin sections

Visualization of yeast cells by electron microscopy

In the 1970s, hydrocarbon or methanol utilizable yeasts were considered as a material for foods and ethanol production. During the course of studies into the physiology of yeasts, we found that these systems provide a suitable model for the biogenesis and ultrastructure research of microbodies (peroxisomes). Microbodies of hydrocarbon utilizing Candida tropicalis multiply profusely from the preexisting microbody. β oxidation enzymes in the microbody were determined by means of immunoelectron microscopy. We examined the ultrastructure of Candida boidinii microbodies grown on methanol, and found a composite crystalloid of two enzymes, alcohol oxidase and catalase, by analyzing using the optical diffraction and filtering technique and computer simulation. We established methods for preparing the protoplasts of Schizosaccharomyces pombe and conditions for the complete regeneration of the cell wall. The dynamic process of cell wall formation was clarified through our study of the protoplasts, using an improved ultra high resolution (UHR) FESEM S-900 and an S-900LV. It was found that β-1,3-glucan, β-1,6-glucan and α-1,3-glucan, as well as α-galactomannan, are ingredients of the cell wall. The process of septum formation during cell division was examined after cryo-fixation by high pressure freezing (HPF). It was also found that α-1,3- and β-1,3-glucans were located in the invaginating nascent septum, and later, highly branched β-1,6-glucan also appeared on the second septum. The micro-sampling method, using a focused ion beam (FIB), has been applied to our yeast cell wall research. A combination of FIB and scanning transmission electron microscopy is useful in constructing 3D images and analyzing the molecular architecture of cells, as well as for electron tomography of thick sections of biological specimens.

FINE STRUCTURE IN FROZEN-ETCHED YEAST CELLS

The freeze-etching technique, which is a special kind of freeze-drying, allows electron microscopic investigation of cells and tissues in the frozen state. In regard to yeast cells (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) a freeze-fixation technique has been developed which does not kill the object. The electron micrographs therefore are considered to impart an image of high fidelity. The cutting of the frozen object, which actually consists of a fine splintering, produces not only cross-sectional views (cross-fractures) of the structures but also surface views of the membranes and organelles. Many surface structures are described which have not been shown by the usual sectioning techniques. The cytoplasmic membrane contains hexagonal arrangements of particles which are apparently involved in the production of the glucan fibrils of the cell wall. Alterations of the distribution of nuclear pores are shown in cells of different ages. Freeze-etching enables a clear distinction of endoplasmic reticulum and vacuoles in yeast cells. The membranes of the vesicular systems are covered by ribosomes arranged in circular patterns. The mitochondrial envelope shows small perforations which could allow the exchange of macromolecules. The storage granules consist of concentric layers of lipid, presumably phosphatide. A Golgi apparatus has been detected which may be involved in the storage of lipid. The structure of the unit membrane and the membrane structures of all organelles as revealed by chemical fixation are confirmed in principle. Glycogen agglomerations are identified in the ground plasm of older cells. Insight into artifacts introduced by common chemical fixation and embedding techniques is obtained and discussed.

Cytology of Rhodotorula glutinis

Thyagarajan, T. R. (Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.) and H. B. Naylor. Cytology of Rhodotorula glutinis. J. Bacteriol. 83:127-136. 1962.-The structure and manner of division of nuclei in actively dividing cells of Rhodotorula glutinis were studied with the phase contrast microscope. The nucleus consists of a dense central body, surrounded by a shell of optically uniform material of low density. The entire structure is enclosed within a nuclear membrane. Various fixation and staining techniques were employed to confirm the observations made from living cells. Since the dense central body is Feulgen-negative and is readily stained by iron alum hematoxylin, it is identified as the nucleolus. The material surrounding the nucleolus has no marked affinity for hematoxylin but is Feulgen-positive and stains intensely with Giemsa and basic fuchsin. The nucleus appears to divide by a process of elongation and constriction during which roughly half of the nucleolus, along with the surrounding chromatin, passes into the bud. The nuclear membrane was found to persist during all stages of division. Vacuoles were seldom observed in actively dividing cells. The nucleus of R. glutinis is similar in structure to the nuclei of higher organisms, but its behavior during division is quite different.

Studies on the oxidative metabolism of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. II. Morphology and oxidative phosphorylation capacity of mitochondria and derived particles from baker's yeast

A specially designed high-speed blendor and glass beads have been used to disintegrate yeast cells. The method enables large quantities of cells to be fragmented quickly at low temperature, and cell-free mitochondrial particles to be prepared in high yield. The particles are isolated in a sucrose-Tris-EDTA medium and extensively refractionated in the same medium. The success of the fractionation is dependent upon the presence of the Tris buffer, as the latter prevents the aggregation of the particulate material. Two morphologically and enzymatically different particle types have been obtained: a heavy fraction corresponding to mitochondria in size and internal organization, and a light fraction consisting of vesicular, single-membrane particles of a smaller size. The light particles oxidize DPNH and succinate, but do not oxidize pyruvate-malate, and lack the capacity for phosphorylation. The heavy particles oxidize pyruvate-malate as well as the citric acid cycle intermediates, although their α-ketoglutaric dehydrogenase activity is low. Oxidation by the heavy particles is coupled to phosphorylation, and P/O ratios of about 1.5 have been obtained. Lactic acid dehydrogenase is also present in the heavy fraction, and lactate is oxidized with a P/O ratio of about 0.7.

Manifestations of injury in yeast cells exposed to subzero temperatures. II. Changes in specific gravity and in the concentration and quantity of cell solids

Mazur, Peter (Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tenn.). Manifestations of injury in yeast cells exposed to subzero temperatures. II. Changes in specific gravity and in the concentration and quantity of cell solids. J. Bacteriol. 82:673-684. 1961.-It has previously been established that subjecting cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to rapid cooling to -30 C results in cell death and in certain morphological alterations. The alterations consisted of the loss of the central vacuole and a 50% decrease in volume. The present experiments were concerned with determining whether the volume decrease was the result of the loss of water alone or of water plus cellular solutes. The density of the "frozenthawed" cells was found to increase from 1.14 to 1.25 g/cm(3) on the basis of measurements of the sedimentation rate of the cells. Interferometric and refractometric measurements indicated, furthermore, that the concentration of cell solids increased from 20 to 28%, whereas the total mass of cell solids decreased from 25 to 17 mumug/cell. The decrease in cell volume was thus shown to be the result of loss of solution from the cells, a solution containing 11 to 16% solids. Measurements of the rate of dialysis suggested that most or all of these solids had a molecular weight below 600. The findings are consistent with the view that low-temperature exposure destroyed the vacuolar membrane and sufficiently damaged the permeability barriers of the cell to permit escape of low molecular weight compounds. The damage was present a few seconds after thawing, and may, therefore, have been a direct result of intracellular ice crystals which, on the basis of previous studies, are believed to be responsible for death from low-temperature exposure.

Electron microscopy of Neurospora crassa mycelia

The fine structure of vegetative mycelia of the filamentous Ascomycete, Neurospora crassa, has been investigated by the standard techniques of electron microscopy. Addition of uranyl nitrate to the methacrylate-embedding medium minimized disruption of the specimens—an accident often observed in the preparation of microbial material. This report describes the presence of a chitinous polysaccharide wall containing fine fibrils embedded in a homogeneous matrix. A sinuate plasma membrane lies adjacent to the inner wall surface. This membrane is often closely associated with the endoplasmic reticulum of the cytoplasm. Numerous mitochondria of the classical type, and dense particles of 10 mµ diameter occur throughout the cytoplasm. The nuclear region is surrounded by a double membrane with pore openings. Associated with the nuclear envelope is a dense area, the nucleolus. The significance of these observations and their relationship to other forms is discussed.

Electron microscopy of Rhodotorula glutinis

Thyagarajan, T. R. (Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, N. H.), S. F. Conti, and H. B. Naylor. Electron microscopy of Rhodotorula glutinis. J. Bacteriol. 83:381-394. 1962.-The structure and manner of nuclear division in Rhodotorula glutinis was studied by electron microscopy of ultrathin sections. Parallel studies with the light microscope, employing conventional staining techniques and phase-contrast microscope observations on nuclei in living cells, were carried out. The nucleus is spherical to oval and is bounded by a nuclear membrane. Intranuclear structures, identified as nucleoli, and electron-transparent areas were observed. The nuclear membrane persists throughout the various stages of cell division. Observations of the nucleus with the electron microscope revealed that nuclear division occurs by a process of elongation and constriction similar to that seen in both living and stained cells. The fine structure of mitochondria and other components of the yeast cell and their behavior during cell division are described. The absence of vacuoles in actively dividing cells of Rhodotorula glutinis lends further support to the view that the vacuole is not an integral part of the nucleus. The results with the electron microscope generally support and considerably extend those obtained with living and stained cells.

Studies on the oxidative metabolism of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. I. Observations on the fine structure of the yeast cell

Vegetative cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were fixed with potassium permanganate followed by uranyl nitrate, embedded in methacrylate, and studied in electron micrographs of thin sections. Details of the structure of the cell wall, cytoplasmic membrane, nucleus, vacuole, and mitochondria are described. Cell membranes, about 70 to 80 A thick, have been resolved into two dense layers, 20 to 25 A thick, separated by a light layer of the same dimensions, which correspond in thickness and appearance to the components of the "unit membrane" as described by Robertson (15). The cell wall is made up of zones of different electron opacity. Underlying the cell wall is the cytoplasmic membrane, a sinuous structure with numerous invaginations. The nucleoplasm, often of uneven electron opacity, is enclosed in a pair of unit membranes in which nuclear pores are apparent. The vacuole, limited by a single unit membrane, is usually irregular in outline and contains some dense material. Rod-shaped mitochondria, 0.4 to 0.6 micro in length and 0.2 to 0.3 micro in diameter, are smaller in size, but similar in structure to some of those described in plant and animal cells. Attempts to use osmium tetroxide as fixative were unsuccessful, a result similar to that obtained by other workers. It is suggested that yeast cells are impermeable to osmium tetroxide, except when grown under specific conditions.

The ultrastructure of yeast: cell wall structure and formation

Yeasts are unicellular eukaryotes, and are used widely as a model system in basic and applied fields of life science, medicine, and biotechnology. The ultrastructure of yeast cells was first studied in 1957 and the techniques used have advanced greatly in the 40 years since then; an overview of these methods is first presented in this review. The ultrastructure of budding and dimorphic yeast cells observed with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and a transmission electron microscope (TEM) after thin sectioning and freeze-etching are then described, followed by discussion of the regeneration of the cell wall of Candida albicans protoplasts detected by cryosectioning. C. albicans protoplasts are regenerated to synthesize microfibrils on their surface. They are aggregated into thicker bundles which are intermeshed, forming a wide-meshed network of long fibrils. These microfibrillar structures are chains of beta-1,3-glucan which are broken down after treatment with beta-1,3-glucanase. Morphologically identical microfibrils are synthesized in vitro by a cell-free system in which the active cell membrane fraction as a source of beta-1,3-glucan synthetase and UDP glucose as the sole substrate are used. The diameter of an elemental fibril of beta-glucan is estimated to be 2.8 nm from the pattern of autocorrelation of the image obtained by computer processing. In contrast, in the presence of aculeacin A the formation of normal fibrillar nets or bundles is significantly inhibited, resulting in the occurrence of short fibrils. These electron microscopic data suggest that aculeacin A inhibits not only the synthesis of beta-1,3-glucan but the aggregation of microfibrils of this polysaccharide, allowing formation of the crystalline structure. On the basis of the cumulative data obtained from the electron microscopic studies, we are led to the assumption that de novo synthesized beta-glucan chains might initially form fine particles which are then transformed into thin fibrils with single to multiple strands which appear to be oriented parallel to each other so that they develop into fibrillar structures. This process of assembly of beta-glucan molecules leads to the development of a fibrous network within the regenerating Candida cell wall. Third, the mechanism of cell wall formation is shown by low-voltage (LV) SEM and TEM, using various techniques and computer graphics, of the regeneration system of Schizosaccharomyces pombe protoplasts: after 10 min of regeneration, the protoplasts begin to grow fibrillar substances of a beta-glucan nature, and a fibrillar network covers the surface of all protoplasts. The network is originally formed as fine particles on the protoplast surface and these are subsequently lengthened to microfibrils 2 nm thick. The microfibrils twist around each other and develop into 8 nm thick fibrils forming flat bundles 16 nm thick. Interfibrillar spaces are gradually filled with amorphous particles of an alpha-galactomannan nature and, finally, the complete cell wall is formed after 12 h. Treatment of reverting protoplasts with RuO4 provided clear TEM images of glucan fibrils with high electron density. The relationship between cell wall regeneration and intracellular organelles was examined by using serial thin sections stained with PATAg and computer-aided three-dimensional reconstruction. The secretory vesicles in a protoplast had increased markedly by 1.4, 3.4, and 5.8 times at 1.5, 3.0, and 5 h, respectively. Three-dimensional analysis indicates that Golgi apparatuses are located close together in the nucleus of the protoplast and are dispersed into the cytoplasm during the progress of cell wall formation.

ELECTRON MICROSCOPY OF A FISSION YEAST, SCHIZOSACCHAROMYCES POMBE

Maclean, Norman (University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland). Electron microscopy of a fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe. J. Bacteriol. 88:1459-1466. 1964.-The structure of the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, was studied electron microscopically, with potassium permanganate and osmium tetroxide as fixatives. The cell was found to be bounded by a cell wall, 1,000 to 2,000 A thick, and a cell membrane. A layer of material was found between the cell membrane and the wall. The central nucleus, 2 to 3 mu in diameter, was bounded by a nuclear membrane, seen in some pictures to be double. Osmium tetroxide fixation revealed a granular body within the nucleus, identified as a nucleolus. Cytoplasmic structures included numerous vacuoles (probably normally containing lipid), a number of membranes and vesicles (which may represent a poorly organized mitochondrial system), and numerous granules (probably representing ribosomes).

ISOLATION AND PROPERTIES OF INTACT MITOCHONDRIA FROM SPHEROPLASTS OF YEAST

Duell, E. A. (Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio), Sakae Inoue, and Merton F. Utter. Isolation and properties of intact mitochondria from spheroplasts of yeast. J. Bacteriol. 88:1762-1773. 1964.-Functionally intact mitochondria can be obtained in good yields by osmotic disruption of spheroplasts formed from yeast by treatment with an enzyme mixture from the snail digestive tract. The useful range of this method is extended greatly by pretreatment of the yeast cells with 2-mercaptoethylamine and ethylene-diaminetetraacetate. The concentration of the yeast suspension can be increased greatly, the incubation period can be shortened considerably, and the requirement for log-phase cells is obviated. Mitochondria prepared by this method have been compared with those obtained by mechanical disruption in terms of respiratory control, specific activity on a wide range of oxidizable substrates, heterogeneity during centrifugation, and structures observed by electron microscopy. In all cases, the mitochondria obtained from spheroplasts appear to be much less damaged by the preparative procedures.

THE REDUCTION OF 5-OXODECANOIC ACID BY NORMAL BAKER'S YEAST

1. A description is given of the course of the reduction of 5-oxodecanoic acid to 5-hydroxydecanoic acid by intact cells of baker's yeast and of the influence of pH on this reduction. As the pH of the medium is decreased the rate of uptake of the keto acid by yeast increases. However, the more the rate of uptake increases the more rapidly the yeast is poisoned by the keto acid or hydroxy acid or both. Consequently the optimum pH is at approx. 5. 2. In baker's yeast the conversion of 5-oxodecanoic acid takes place mainly in the mitochondria. 3. The conversion is strongly influenced by ATP, NADPH and Mg(2+) or Mn(2+), and to a smaller extent by CoA.SH. The NADP can only partly be replaced by NADH. Thus the reduction seems to be NADPH-dependent. A mechanism for the conversion is proposed. 4. Like the reduction by intact cells, the reduction by an isolated mitochondrial fraction proceeds stereospecifically.

Effects of growth conditions on mitochondrial morphology in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Effects of growth conditions on mitochondrial morphology were studied in living Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells by vital staining with the fluorescent dye dimethyl-aminostyryl-methylpyridinium iodine (DASPMI), fluorescence microscopy, and confocal-scanning laser microscopy. Cells from respiratory, ethanol-grown batch cultures contained a large number of small mitochondria. Conversely, cells from glucose-grown batch cultures, in which metabolism was respiro-fermentative, contained small numbers of large, branched mitochondria. These changes did not significantly affect the fraction of the cellular volume occupied by the mitochondria. Similar differences in mitochondrial morphology were observed in glucose-limited chemostat cultures. In aerobic chemostat cultures, glucose metabolism was strictly respiratory and cells contained a large number of small mitochondria. Anaerobic, fermentative chemostat cultivation resulted in the large, branched mitochondrial structures also seen in glucose-grown batch cultures. Upon aeration of a previously anaerobic chemostat culture, the maximum respiratory capacity increased from 10 to 70 mumole.min-1.g dry weight-1 within 10 h. This transition resulted in drastic changes of mitochondrial number, morphology and, consequently, mitochondrial surface area. These changes continued for several hours after the respiratory capacity had reached its maximum. Cyanide-insensitive oxygen consumption contributed ca. 50% of the total respiratory capacity in anaerobic cultures, but was virtually absent in aerobic cultures. The response of aerobic cultures to oxygen deprivation was qualitatively the reverse of the response of anaerobic cultures to aeration. The results indicate that mitochondrial morphology in S. cerevisiae is closely linked to the metabolic activity of this yeast: conditions that result in repression of respiratory enzymes generally lead to the mitochondrial morphology observed in anaerobically grown, fermenting cells.

Longitudinal melanonychia caused by trichophyton rubrum. Histochemical and ultrastructural study of two cases

Two patients had black pigmentation affecting a great toenail that clinically simulated longitudinal melanonychia; Trichophyton rubrum with a diffusible black pigment was consistently isolated from the nail lesions. Light microscopic examination of nail samples stained with hematoxylin-eosin-safranine showed hyphae containing a brown cytoplasmic pigment. The positive Masson-Fontana stain suggested that the pigment was related to melanin. Both histologic and ultrastructural studies demonstrated intracytoplasmic polymerization, a method of final enzymatic polymerization that is unusual for melanin-producing fungal strains.

Ultrastructural study of Candida albicans yeast after application of a ribonuclease

Electron microscopy was performed on Candida albicans yeast after application of ribonuclease to clear the cytoplasmic background. In conjunction with Thiery's method of highlighting polysaccharide components, this clearing technique, which has not been used since 1959, enabled visualization of the nucleus, the mitochondria, the vacuolar system and another structure which seemed to be the Golgi apparatus. The invaginations of the plasmalemma membrane (or lomasomes) are highly developed and may be partially responsible for transporting material required for development of the cell wall, especially during budding.