The image depicts how yeast cells perceive methionine as a growth cue. Without methionine, the cells do not grow (the unhappy yeast without a bud, on the left side). On the other hand, methionine, an amino acid, supplementation triggers a biochemical cascade of events, ultimately leading to cell growth (the happy yeast with a bud, on the right side). Analogous to the butterfly effect, the image illustrates how such a small molecule leads to a series of bigger and bigger metabolic events (methionine to PPP-GDH-PLP to biosynthesis of other amino acids to nucleotide biosynthesis to growth). The dominoes of increasing size show this chain of events and capture how methionine, even after being a small molecule, eventually has a big impact on cell growth.

The image refers to the article titled 'Methionine coordinates a hierarchically organized anabolic program enabling proliferation' by Walvekar et al, MBoC, 2018 and is created by Adhish Walvekar and Sunil Laxman, from the Institute for Stem Cell biology and Regenerative Medicine (inStem), Bangalore, India.