Syllabus
Definition of yeast: Importance and use.
Yeast morphology. Cell morphology ? size and shape, measuring cells, effect of external factors on cell shape changes, special cells (blastospores, ballistospores, etc.). Morphology of yeast culture ? growth in a liquid and on a solid medium, types of budding, single-cell colonies, giant colonies.
Yeast growth and reproduction: Basic yeast nutrition, growth substances, culture growth ? growth curve (lag phase, exponential, diauxic, post-diauxic, stationary phase, death phase), growth rate (generation time), synchronized growth, effect of temperature, effect of inoculum size.
Yeast taxonomy: System according to Kocková-Kratochvílová, key for genus determination, identification of the most important species and their groups.
Yeast cell structure. Isolation of cell components, cell wall ? structure, scars (types and staining), protoplasts, induced fusion of protoplasts; membrane ? membrane systems, secretion pathway, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, secretion vesicles, modification of proteins during the pathway; vacuole ? function; ribosomes
? cytoplasmic, mitochondrial; cytoskeleton ? methods of study, components, cytoskeletal functions ? shape changes and motion of organelles; mitochondria ? shapes, size, structure; nucleus ? structure; cytosol.
Chemical composition of cells: Cell dry weight, inorganic composition, intercellular and intracellular water, water content of individual organelles, organic cell components ? nucleic acids and proteins, cell wall polysaccharides (mannans, glucans, chitin), intracellular saccharides, lipids, sterols, vitamins.
Yeast cell cycle: Cell cycle of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, gene control of cell cycle.
Yeast cell mating: The course of mating, a- and á-cell types, homothallism, heterothallism, agglutinins.
Sporulation: Initiation of sporulation, sporulation stages, spore composition, mutants.
Metabolism: Requirements of yeast cells for water, temperature, oxygen ? selective media; transport of substances across the cell wall and cell membrane ? saccharides, amino acids, ions, peptides, glucose uptake ? regulation of glycolysis; types of yeast
ATPases ? plasma membrane, vacuolar, mitochondrial; catabolite repression ? hypothesis about its mechanism; energy reserves.
Killer system in yeast.
Pathogenic yeasts.
Industrial yeasts: Requirements for suitable properties, methods of improvement, use of cell fusion methods and genetic engineering.
Annotation
Yeast biology
Yeast morphology, growth and reproduction, structure of the yeast cell, chemical composition, cell cycle, metabolism, the yeast killer system, pathogenic yeasts, industrially utilized yeasts.