ABSTRACT

It was a surprise, therefore, when cell death with the characteristics of apopto­ sis was first described in unicellular organisms. The extensive use of yeast for apop­ tosis research in very different areas of cell biology proves that the basic machinery of apoptosis is indeed present and functional in yeast. The genes functioning in the cell death of unicellular organisms have been confirmed as apoptotic regulators of metazoans. These results promise easier access to an understanding of apoptosis.