This image shows mitochondria (orange and purple) in the fungus, Aureobasidium pullulans. The mitochondria produce energy for the cell, and here they are being allocated into multiple daughter cells from one large mother cell. This unusual fungus is capable of producing multiple daughter cells in a single cell cycle, and this image was taken to ask how mother cells ensure each daughter cell inherits enough mitochondria for energy production and growth.

This image was taken to track mitochondrial inheritance in the fungus, Aureobasidium pullulans. Unlike most yeast that grow only one daughter cell at a time, this unusual fungus is capable of producing multiple daughter cells in a single cell cycle, raising new questions about organelle inheritance not explained by studying conventional yeast models. This work aims to answer the question of how mother cells that produce multiple daughters ensure each daughter cell inherits the necessary number of mitochondria for viability.

This polymorphic fungus is distinct from other yeast in that it produces multiple daughter cells in a single cell cycle. How A. pullulans partitions growth potentialand each organelle between multiple daughter cells is an open question that cannot be explained by known biology in conventional yeast models. To address this, I am quantifying cytoskeletal organization and organelle inheritance. By visualizing the cytoskeleton, I can ask how the cytoskeleton is oriented to direct organelle trafficking and by tagging different organelles I can track delivery of organelles into each daughter