MATa cells were treated with alpha factor mating pheromone at a concentration of 10 nM and images captured at 15 minute intervals for 8 hours.

The cluster of three cells present at the beginning of the experiment illustrates the axial budding pattern characteristic of wild-type haploid cells. Activation of the mating pathway by low concentrations of pheromone overrides this pattern, causing cells to bud in a bipolar pattern. This pattern may allow cells to locate mating partners more effectively than either an axial or random pattern through improved reception of signalling information and by dispersing cells over a broader area initially to receive pheromone signals.