Translocation of zinc from vacuole to nucleus during yeast meiosis.

A novel staining procedure employing the UV fluorochrome DAPI (4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole X 2HCl) and dithizone (diphenylthiocarbazone) was developed for microcytochemical determination of sites of zinc localization in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Hansen. In vegetative cells vacuolar polyphosphate bodies stained with dithizone, whereas in sporulating cells nucleoli and centriolar plaques were dithizone-positive. Hence, dithizone not only permitted localization of zinc but also indicated zinc translocation from vacuolar to nuclear compartments during differentiation from the vegetative to sporulated state.