Rise in intracellular pH is concurrent with 'start' progression of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Intracellular pH (pHi) was determined during arrest and recovery of temperature sensitive-cell division cycle mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In all mutants, pHi decreased during arrest; but when the mutants were released from arrest a rapid increase in pHi ensued in only cdc28- and cdc37-arrested cells. Both of these mutations cause arrest at 'start', the sole regulatory point in the S. cerevisiae cell cycle. In cells with cdc4 or cdc7 mutations, which arrest past start, pHi remained constant and exhibited a decrease, respectively, upon recovery of growth. The activity of plasma membrane ATPase decreased during the first 30 min of recovery of cdc28-arrested cells, concomitant with the rise in pHi. During the same period, there was no significant change in activity in cdc4-bearing cells, whereas an increase was observed for cdc7-bearing cells. Increase in pHi may be used as a specific signal by S. cerevisiae for start traversal and commitment to a new cycle.