We used high-density oligonucleotide microarrays to analyse the genomes and
meiotic expression patterns of two yeast strains, SK1 and W303, that displ
ay distinct kinetics and efficiencies of sporulation. Hybridization of geno
mic DNA to arrays revealed numerous gene deletions and polymorphisms in bot
h backgrounds. The expression analysis yielded approximately 1,600 meiotica
lly regulated genes in each strain, with a core set of approximately 60% di
splaying similar patterns in both strains. Most of these (95%) are MATa/MAT
alpha -dependent and are not similarly expressed in near-isogenic meiosis-
deficient controls. The transcript profiles correlate with the distribution
of defined meiotic promoter elements and with the time of known gene funct
ion.