Cell Cycle Synchronization of Schizosaccharomyces pombe by Lactose Gradient Centrifugation to Isolate Small Cells

Size selection of small cells from an asynchronous Schizosaccharomyces pombe culture offers a simple way to generate cultures in which progression through the mitotic cell division cycle is synchronized throughout the population. Here, we describe how density centrifugation of cells from asynchronous cultures through lactose gradients selects small G2 cells to generate synchronized cultures as large as 500 mL. The ease and simplicity of this approach makes it an accessible and attractive method for generating synchronous cultures.