Arsenic oxide-induced thermotolerance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The growth response of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to arsenite and arsenate and the relationship between the enhancement of heat shock protein (hsp) synthesis caused by these arsenic oxides and thermotolerance are reported. Arsenite and arsenate transiently inhibited cell growth and overall protein synthesis; arsenate enhanced the synthesis of the 42-, 74-, 84-, and 100-kilodalton hsps, whereas arsenite enhanced synthesis of only the 74-kilodalton hsp. The induction of these hsps reached a maximum 45 min following metal oxide treatment and then declined. A delayed thermotolerance peaked 4 h after metal oxide addition, at which time cell growth and protein synthesis were recovering. These data show that the arsenate- and arsenite-induced thermotolerance in S. cerevisiae cells does not appear to be causally related to either hsp synthesis or cell cycle arrest.