Expression and analysis of the green fluorescent protein gene in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

This report demonstrates that the Aequorea victoria green fluorescence protein (gfp) gene product will fluoresce in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe when expressed from an episomal expression vector. Fluorescence was readily detectable at both the colony and single cell level. Application of fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) techniques showed that gfp-expressing cells could be detected when they were as rare as 1% of a total yeast population. Quantitative analysis of gfp-expressing cells constituting as little as 5% of a total population was possible. These observations establish the suitability of the gfp gene for use in S. pombe and, in combination with FACS, offers an experimental strategy for quantitative analysis of gene expression in yeast populations.