A suppressor of the heterokaryon-incompatibility associated with mating type in Neurospora crassa.

Abstract

Neurospora crassa strains of opposite mating type are ordinarily heterokaryon-incompatible during vegetative growth. An unlinked mutant called tolerant (tol) is described, which suppresses the vegetative incompatibility of unlike mating types without affecting their ability to cross. The mutant tol was selected and studied by means of duplications heterozygous for mating type. Use of the duplication eliminates complications due to unlinked heterokaryon genes. The mode of action of tol has been confirmed by conventional heterokaryon tests. tol has been mapped in linkage group IV, close to tryp-4. A suppressor similar or identical to tolerant has been found in a wild strain from Panama, out of 14 different wild types which were tested. By using a different duplication which covers the unlinked heterokaryon-compatibility locus C, it was shown that tolerant does not suppress C/c incompatibility. The fact that tolerant suppresses only one of the two functions ascribed to mating type revives the question of whether 'mating-type' is one gene or two. However, the data strongly support Pittenger's (1957) conclusion that, if two genes are involved, they must be closely linked.