Measuring environmental & genetic effects on cell differentiation kinetics in yeast

The MAPKinase pathway is commonly involved in cell differentiation and growth processes. To study the kinetics of this pathway in regards to the effects of several genetic and environmental factors, we have chosen the popular model of pheromone response in yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Our data showed significant differences based on strain that seem to match previous data. Surprisingly, there were no measurable trends based on concentration, but results indicate that temperature may be positively correlated with response rate and may vary between strains. Future experiments will be aimed towards statistically defining the effects of each variable and creating a mathematical model that can be used to predict the outcomes of untested temperature and concentration conditions.