Changes in the rate of oxygen consumption in synchronous cultures of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Oxygen consumption was measured with an oxygen electrode in synchronous cultures of S. pombe. There were changes during the cell cycle in the rate of oxygen uptake, which are most clearly shown as oscillations in acceleration curves (rate of the rate of uptake). Under various conditions of selection and induction synchrony the acceleration curves are similar to those found earlier for CO2 production. As with CO2 production, the oscillations continued after a block to the DNA-division cycle. There were, however, two differences between oxygen uptake and CO2 production. The oxygen oscillations were more marked and also were out of phase by half a cycle. The respiratory coefficient therefore changes through the cycle.