Genetic analysis of mutations affecting growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae at low temperature.

A large number of genes control growth of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae at low temperatures (< 10 degrees ). Approximately 47 percent of the mutants selected for inability to grow at 4-5 degrees C show increased sensitivity to cycloheximide. In 3 of 4 cases tested, supersensitivity to cycloheximide and inability to grow at the low temperature segregate together and thus appear to be effects of the same mutation. Since many cold-sensitive mutants of bacteria have been found to have altered ribosomes and since cycloheximide resistance in yeast can be caused by ribosomal changes, this suggests that the mutants having low-temperature-sensitive growth may be defective in ribosome-assembly processes at the low temperatures. Two of the lts loci, lts1 and lts3 have been located on chromosome VII and another two, lts4 and lts10 on chromosome IV. A mutation, cyh10, conferring cycloheximide resistance, but not cold sensitivity, has been located close to the centromere on chromosome II.