RESUMEN
The aim of the present work was to visualize the areas of increased concentration of calcium and zinc ions inside Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells with the use of confocal microscopy and to make an attempt to asses semi-quantitatively their concentration within the limits of the cells. Semi-quantitative analysis revealed that fluorescence inside cells from control samples was three-times lower than that observed for cells from the sample enriched with calcium. Differences in distribution of fluorescence intensity between cells originated from the samples enriched with zinc and control samples were also observed. On the basis of the optical sections, the 3D reconstructions of ion-rich areas distribution in the cell were made. The obtained results showed that confocal microscopy is a useful technique for visualization of the areas in S. cerevisiae cells which contain higher amount of calcium and zinc and it may be also used for semi-quantitative analysis.