Multiple inputs ensure yeast cell size homeostasis during cell cycle progression

Coordination of cell growth and division is essential for proper cell function. In budding yeast, although some molecular mechanisms responsible for cell size control during G1 have been elucidated, the mechanism by which cell size homeostasis is established and maintained throughout the cell cycle remains to be discovered. Here, we developed a new technique based on quantification of histone levels to monitor cell cycle progression in individual yeast cells with unprecedented accuracy. Our analysis establishes the existence of a strong mechanism controlling bud size in G2/M that prevents premature entry into mitosis, and contributes significantly to the overall control of size variability during the cell cycle. While most G1/S regulation mutants do not display any strongly impaired size homeostasis, mutants in which B-type cyclin regulation is altered display large cell-to-cell size variability. Our study thus demonstrates that size homeostasis is not controlled by a G1-specific mechanism but is likely to be an emergent property resulting from the integration of several mechanisms, including the control of cyclin B-Cdk activity, that coordinate cell and bud growth with division.