eprintid: 1426014
rev_number: 32
eprint_status: archive
userid: 608
dir: disk0/01/42/60/14
datestamp: 2014-04-03 19:04:09
lastmod: 2021-09-20 22:17:24
status_changed: 2014-04-03 19:04:09
type: article
metadata_visibility: show
item_issues_count: 0
creators_name: Smith, C
creators_name: Pomiankowski, A
creators_name: Greig, D
title: Size and competitive mating success in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
ispublished: pub
divisions: UCL
divisions: B02
divisions: C08
divisions: D09
divisions: F99
keywords: Saccharomyces cerevisiae, body size, cell size, mate choice, mating, sexual selection.
note: © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the
International Society for Behavioral Ecology.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

PMCID: PMC3945744
abstract: In unicellular organisms like yeast, mating with the right partner is critical to future fitness because each individual can only mate once. Because cell size is important for viability, mating with a partner of the right size could be a significant advantage. To investigate this idea, we manipulated the size of unmated yeast cells and showed that their viability depended on environmental conditions; large cells do better on rich medium and small cells do better on poor medium. We also found that the fitness of offspring is determined by the size of their parents. Finally, we demonstrated that when a focal cell of one mating type was placed with a large and a small cell of the opposite mating type, it was more likely to mate with the cell that was closer to the optimum size for growth in a given environment. This pattern was not generated by differences in passive mating efficiency of large and small cells across environments but by competitive mating behavior, mate preference, or both. We conclude that the most likely mechanism underlying this interesting behavior is that yeast cells compete for mates by producing pheromone signals advertising their viability, and cells with the opportunity to choose prefer to mate with stronger signalers because such matings produce more viable offspring.
date: 2014-03-07
official_url: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/beheco/art117
vfaculties: VFLS
oa_status: green
full_text_type: pub
primo: open
primo_central: open_green
article_type_text: JOURNAL ARTICLE
verified: verified_manual
elements_source: PubMed
elements_id: 938413
doi: 10.1093/beheco/art117
language_elements: ENG
lyricists_name: Greig, Duncan
lyricists_name: Pomiankowski, Andrew
lyricists_id: DGREI17
lyricists_id: APOMI03
full_text_status: public
publication: Behav Ecol
volume: 25
number: 2
pagerange: 320 - 327
issn: 1045-2249
citation:        Smith, C;    Pomiankowski, A;    Greig, D;      (2014)    Size and competitive mating success in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.                   Behav Ecol , 25  (2)   320 - 327.    10.1093/beheco/art117 <https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco%2Fart117>.       Green open access   
 
document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1426014/1/Behavioral_Ecology-2014-Smith-320-7.pdf