Intervacuole Exchange in the Yeast Zygote: A New Pathway in Organelle Communication

A new pathway of vesicle traffic between organelles has been identified. The vacuoles (lysosomes) of Saccharomyces cerevisiae zygotes rapidly exchange their contents at a specific point in the cell cycle. With the use of fluorescence microscopy, "tracks" were observed that connect the original parental vacuoles to the newly forming bud vacuoles. These observations suggest that vacuole-derived vesicles rapidly move along the tracks in both directions, equilibrating vacuole contents. This rapid vesicle movement may be responsible for vacuole formation in newly developing cells.