Types of cell death and methods of their detection in yeast S accharomyces cerevisiae

Summary The occurrence of programmed cell death in unicellular organisms is a subject that arouses great interest of theoreticians and experimental scientists. Already found evolutionarily conserved genes and metabolic pathways confirmed its existence in yeast, protozoa and even bacteria. In the yeast S accharomyces cerevisiae, at least three main types of death are distinguished: apoptosis, necrosis and autophagy. Their classification suggested by the N omenclature C ommittee on C ell D eath initially based on the morphological characteristics has now been extended to include the measurable biochemical characteristics. Several laboratory methods previously used to detect the types of cell death of higher eucaryotes and later developed and successfully used for the analysis of yeast cells are here critically reviewed. Their advantages and limitations are described.