Spore Clones Research Articles

Distribution of ultraviolet light irradiated mitochondrial genomes during meiosis in yeast

Clones derived from ascospores from ultraviolet irradiated diploid cells were examined for the genetic determinants or respiratory properties. Approximately 10% of the cells produced petites of mitochondrial origin at the dose applied. Among 13 asci which produced mitochondrial petites with high frequencies, 6 asci of uniparental type, 0 grandes : 4 petites, were observed. Furthermore, most of the petite spore clones from each individual uniparental ascus showed similar levels of suppressiveness and of mitochondrial gene retention. From these results it is suggested that a single mitochondrial genome participates meiosis in yeast.

AN ENDOMITOTIC EFFECT OF A CELL CYCLE MUTATION OF SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE

A recessive temperature-sensitive mutation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been isolated and shown to cause an increase in ploidy in both haploids and diploids. Genetic analysis revealed that the strain carrying the mutation was an aa diploid, although MNNG mutagenesis had been done on an a haploid strain. When the mutant strain was crossed with an alpha alpha diploid and the resultant tetraploid sporulated, some of the meiotic progeny of this tetraploid were themselves tetraploid, as shown by both genetic analysis and DNA measurements, instead of diploid as expected of tetraploid meiosis. The ability of these tetraploids to continue to produce tetraploid meiotic progeny was followed for four generations. Homothallism was excluded as a cause of the increase in ploidy; visual pedigree analysis of spore clones to about the 32-cell stage failed to reveal any zygotes, and haploids that diploidized retained their mating type. An extra round of meiotic DNA synthesis was also considered and excluded. It was found that tetraploidization was independent of sporulation temperature, but was dependent on the temperature of germination and the growth of the spores. Increase in ploidy occurred when the spores were germinated and grown at 30 degrees, but did not occur at 23 degrees. Two cycles of sporulation and growth at 23 degrees resulted in haploids, which were shown to diploidize within 24 hr when grown at 30 degrees. Visual observation of the haploid cells incubated at 36 degrees revealed a cell-division-cycle phenotype characteristic of mutations that affect nuclear division; complementation analysis demonstrated that the mutation, cdc31-2, is allelic to cdc31-1, a mutation isolated by Hartwell et al. (1973) and characterized as causing a temperature-sensitive arrest during late nuclear division. The segregation of cdc31-2 in heterozygous diploids was 2:2 and characteristic of a noncentromere-linked gene.

MAPPING CHROMOSOMAL GENES OF SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE USING AN IMPROVED GENETIC MAPPING METHOD

A triploid (3n) strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was constructed carrying a standard marker on each of chromosomes 1 through XVII in the -/+/+ configuration. This is called a "supertriploid." Meiotic spores from this strain (n + approximately n/2) were mated with a haploid (n) carrying an unmapped mutation. Meiotic analysis of each zygote clone (2n + approximately n/2) produced in this way resulted in elimination of an average of 4.2 chromosomes as the possible location of the unmapped marker. The distribution of extra chromosomes in the 2n + approximately n/2) strains was nearly random. Meiotic segregrants of these crosses carrying the unmapped mutation in the -/+ configuration were then crossed with multiply marked haploid strains to further narrow the possible location of the unmapped mutation to a single chromosome. Scoring of markers by complemention tests was simplified by mating spore clones with mixtures of a and alpha strains, each pair carrying the same set of markers. Using this new, more rapid method ("supertriploid mapping"), eight genes required for the maintenance of the killer plasmid were located on the genetic map of S. cerevisiae.

Microtiter plate assay for sexual agglutination in the yeast Hansenula wingei

A fast method is described for determining the mating type of yeast spore clones independent of genetic complementation between auxotrophic markers.

Genetic control of sensitization by oxygen involving repair systems in Saccharomyces.

SummaryRadiation-sensitization by oxygen of the colony-forming ability was observed to the same extent in wild-type Saccharomyces and in mutant strains rs2, rs3−1 and rs3−2. However, four independent spore clones containing the rs1 gene, derived from asci after sporulation of diploid hybrid strains, showed the same sensitivity in oxic and hypoxic conditions. This lack of oxygen effect is therefore genetically linked to the rs1 gene. The results are discussed in terms of the lack of repair capacity in the strains used.