Gal1 repression memory in budding yeast

Abstract

Cells must continuously adapt to changing environments and, thus, have evolved mechanisms allowing them to respond to repeated stimuli. For example, faster gene induction upon a repeated stimulus aids adaptation - a process known as reinduction memory. However, whether such a memory exists for gene repression is unclear. Here, we studied gene repression across repeated carbon source shifts in over 2,500 single Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells. By monitoring the expression of a carbon source-responsive gene, galactokinase 1 (Gal1), and mathematical modeling, we discovered repression memory at the population and single-cell level. Using a repressor model to estimate single-cell repression parameters, we show that repression memory is due to a shortened repression delay, the estimated time gap between carbon source shift and Gal1 expression termination, upon the repeated carbon source shift. Additionally, we show that cells lacking Elp6 display a gain-of-repression-memory phenotype characterized by a stronger decrease in repression delay between two consecutive carbon source shifts. Collectively, our study provides the first quantitative description of repression memory in single cells.