On the importance of calcium and magnesium ions in yeast sporulation

Irrespective of the nutritional conditions, the sporulation frequency of wild and industrially used yeasts on agar or agarose plates has been found to vary from one experiment to another. An analysis of agar- and agarose-extracts by ion-exchange column chromatography proved that the amount of calcium and/or magnesium ions contained in the agar was a factor in the fluctuation of sporulation frequency. Furthermore, these two cations enhanced the formation of four-spored asci. When calcium or magnesium ions were added to a nutrition-deprived medium solidified with agarose containing no detectable calcium and magnesium ions, wild and industrially used sake yeasts efficiently sporulated with a frequency of 10–40%. A strictly controlled sporulation condition suitable for the analysis of meiosis and sporulation of yeast cells was constructed by using calcium and/or magnesium ions and highly purified agarose.