title: Two-dimensionality of yeast colony expansion accompanied by pattern formation.
abstract: Yeasts can form multicellular patterns as they expand on agar plates, a phenotype that requires a functional copy of the FLO11 gene. Although the biochemical and molecular requirements for such patterns have been examined, the mechanisms underlying their formation are not entirely clear. Here we develop quantitative methods to accurately characterize the size, shape, and surface patterns of yeast colonies for various combinations of agar and sugar concentrations. We combine these measurements with mathematical and physical models and find that FLO11 gene constrains cells to grow near the agar surface, causing the formation of larger and more irregular colonies that undergo hierarchical wrinkling. Head-to-head competition assays on agar plates indicate that two-dimensional constraint on the expansion of FLO11 wild type (FLO11) cells confers a fitness advantage over FLO11 knockout (flo11Δ) cells on the agar surface.
authors.affiliation: Department of Systems Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, United States of America.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Metcalf Science Center (SCI), Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Javad
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Noorbakhsh
authors.affiliation: Department of Systems Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, United States of America.
authors.forename: Rhys M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Metcalf Science Center (SCI), Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Samaniego-Evans
authors.affiliation: Department of Systems Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, United States of America.
authors.forename: Germaine
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Agollah
authors.affiliation: Department of Systems Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, United States of America; School of Biomedicine, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, Russia.
authors.forename: Dmitry
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nevozhay
authors.affiliation: Department of Systems Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jennie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kuzdzal-Fick
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Metcalf Science Center (SCI), Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Pankaj
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mehta
authors.affiliation: Department of Systems Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, United States of America; The Louis and Beatrice Laufer Center for Physical & Quantitative Biology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, United States of America; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, United States of America.
authors.forename: Gábor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Balázsi
mesh_terms: D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology*; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: C110690:FLO11 protein, S cerevisiae; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D005947:Glucose