Enabling yeast replication in extreme cold and heat

Abstract

Open questions are whether life can be enabled in uninhabitable environments, and whether there is a limit to howmuch one can tune the speed of proliferation. Answering such questions has broad implications. It may reveal whether we can live in unforeseen habitats, whether we can slow down aging, and whether there are limits to lifespan. In this dissertation, we explore such questions for the budding yeast by changing the temperature. We will use temperature, a physical parameter, as a knob to tune the speed of cellular life. Temperature affects all organisms and habitats, and is of contemporary interest in light of climate change. Indeed, cells of microbes, plants and cold-blooded animals often endure temperatures that can be considered extreme. For reference, budding yeast lives comfortably at 30 ◦C and has a doubling time of roughly 1.5 hours – the time a cell needs to grow and divide into two cells. During our studies, we will elucidate the common principles that govern the life of yeast at extreme temperatures – how a cell survives, grows, replicates, ages, and dies. We combine models, experiments and measurements of single cells and at amolecular level, and integrate these into a systems-level view of the life of yeast at extreme temperatures..