Yeast form complex highly organized colonies in which cells undergo spatiotemporal phenotypic differentiation in response to local gradients of nutrients, metabolites, and specific signaling molecules. Colony fitness depends on cell interactions, cooperation, and the division of labor between differentiated cell subpopulations. Here, we describe the regulation and dynamics of the expansion of papillae that arise during colony aging, which consist of cells that overcome colony regulatory rules and disrupt the synchronized colony structure. We show that papillae specifically expand within the U cell subpopulation in differentiated colonies. Papillae emerge more frequently in some strains than in others. Genomic analyses further revealed that the Whi2p-Psr1p/Psr2p complex (WPPC) plays a key role in papillae expansion. We show that cells lacking a functional WPPC have a sizable interaction-specific fitness advantage attributable to production of and resistance to a diffusible compound that inhibits growth of other cells. Competitive superiority and high relative fitness of whi2 and psr1psr2 strains are particularly pronounced in dense spatially structured colonies and are independent of TORC1 and Msn2p/Msn4p regulators previously associated with the WPPC function. The WPPC function, described here, might be a regulatory mechanism that balances cell competition and cooperation in dense yeast populations and, thus, contributes to cell synchronization, pattern formation, and the expansion of cells with a competitive fitness advantage.

酵母形成复杂的，高度组织化的菌落，其中细胞响应营养素，代谢产物和特定信号分子的局部梯度而经历时空表型分化。菌落适应性取决于细胞相互作用，协作以及分化的细胞亚群之间的分工。在这里，我们描述了在菌落衰老过程中出现的乳头状扩张的调控和动力学，其由克服菌落调控规则并破坏同步菌落结构的细胞组成。我们显示，乳突在分化的菌落中在U细胞亚群内特异性扩展。乳头在某些菌株中比在其他菌株中更频繁地出现。基因组分析进一步揭示了Whi2p-Psr1p / Psr2p复合体（WPPC）在乳头扩张中起关键作用。我们表明，缺乏功能性WPPC的细胞具有可观的相互作用特异性适应性优势，这归因于可抑制其他细胞生长的可扩散化合物的产生和耐药性。竞争优势和较高的相对适应性whi2和psr1psr2菌株在密集的空间结构菌落中特别明显，并且独立于先前与WPPC功能相关的TORC1和Msn2p / Msn4p调节剂。此处描述的WPPC功能可能是一种平衡机制，可以平衡致密酵母种群中的细胞竞争和合作，从而以具有竞争性的健身优势促进细胞同步，模式形成和细胞扩增。