Growing cells are subject to cycles of nutrient depletion and repletion. A shortage of nutrients activates a starvation program that promotes growth in limiting conditions. To examine whether nutrient-deprived cells prepare also for their subsequent recovery, we followed the transcription program activated in budding yeast transferred to low-phosphate media and defined its contribution to cell growth during phosphate limitation and upon recovery. An initial transcription wave was induced by moderate phosphate depletion that did not affect cell growth. A second transcription wave followed when phosphate became growth limiting. The starvation program contributed to growth only in the second, growth-limiting phase. Notably, the early response, activated at moderate depletion, promoted recovery from starvation by increasing phosphate influx upon transfer to rich medium. Our results suggest that cells subject to nutrient depletion prepare not only for growth in the limiting conditions but also for their predicted recovery once nutrients are replenished.

生长中的细胞要经历营养耗尽和补充的循环。营养不足会激活饥饿计划，从而在有限的条件下促进生长。为了检查营养缺乏的细胞是否也为随后的恢复做准备，我们遵循了在发芽酵母中激活的转录程序，将其转移到低磷酸盐培养基中，并定义了其在磷酸盐限制和恢复期间对细胞生长的贡献。最初的转录波是由不影响细胞生长的中等磷酸盐消耗诱导的。当磷酸盐变成生长受限时，第二个转录波随之而来。饥饿计划仅在限制增长的第二阶段为增长做出了贡献。值得注意的是，早期反应在中等耗竭状态下被激活，通过转移到丰富的培养基中增加磷酸盐的流入，促进了饥饿的恢复。我们的结果表明，营养物质耗尽的细胞不仅为在有限条件下的生长做好准备，而且为营养补充后的预计恢复做好准备。