P–Fluorophenylalanine-induced mitotic haploidization inUstilago violacea

Abstract

SUMMARYHaploid segregante from vegetative diploids ofUstilago violaceaappear as spherical colonies (papillae) growing above a background of dead diploid cells on complete medium containing DL-p–fluorophenylalanine (PFP). Most mutants segregate normally but one-third of the mutants were expressed infrequently in 0–5% papillae only. These mutants, designated ‘missing-markers’, were found to be on either of two chromosomes that remained disomic after treatment with PFP. When cells from a disomic papillum were streaked on complete medium, monosomics in which ‘missing-markers’ were expressed segregated spontaneously at a low frequency. Thus, of 10–12 linkage groups identified inU. violacea, two remain disomic after PFP treatment. Possible reasons for these differences between chromosomes in the same genome are discussed.Haploid and diploid stock cultures did not differ either in resistance to PFP, or in the production of papillae on PFP medium. Haploid segregante from a diploid were slightly more resistant to PFP than the wild-type haploid cultures under some conditions, but were very different in that they no longer produced papillae on PFP medium. These haploid segre-gants resembled one of three PFP-resistant mutants (pfp-A) isolated from a wild-type haploid stock grown on PFP medium. The significance of these results to the mechanism of haploidization inU. violaceais discussed.