Reversion of spontaneously arising respiratory deficiency in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Abstract

Reversion of naturally-arising cytoplasmically-inherited respiratory deficiency in Saccharomyces cerevisiae was indicated by the occurrence of colonies with a respiratory sufficient apex arising from a respiratory deficient base. The basal respiratory deficient cells were shown to contain the suppressive factor. It was suggested that genetic information for the suppressive factor resided in abnormal mitochondrial DNA and that mosaic colonies arose from a heteroplasmic cell containing both normal and abnormal mitochondrial DNA.