Precise Mapping of the Homothallism Genes HML and HMR in SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE

The HML and HMR loci carry unexpressed copies of MATa and MATα information, and a replica of that information is transposed to MAT during mating-type interchange in Saccharomyces yeasts. A negative control mechanism keeps silent the information located at the HML and HMR loci. We mapped these loci by constructing strains in which these loci are expressed. In these strains, the mating type of the segregants is dependent upon the allele at HML and HMR. This novel approach is independent of their switching function. HML is located on the left arm of chromosome III distal to his4 by about 26.8 centimorgans (cM). HMR maps on the right arm of the same chromosome distal to thr4 by about 39.8 cM and proximal to MAL2 by about 1.0 cM. The results allow the exact placement of these loci and are in accord with the observations made by Harashima and Oshima (1976).     

The Genetic System Controlling Homothallism in Saccharomyces Yeasts

There are four types of life cycles in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and its related species. A perfect homothallic life cycle (the Ho type) is observed in the classic D strain. Two other types show semi-homothallism; one of them shows a 2-homothallic diploid:2alpha heterothallic haploid segregation (the Hp type) and another, a 2-homothallic:2a segregation (the Hq type). In the segregants from these Ho, Hp, and Hq diploids, each homothallic segregant shows the same segregation pattern as its parental diploid. The fourth type has a heterothallic life cycle showing a 2a:2alpha segregation and the diploids are produced by the fusion of two haploid cells of opposite mating types. The diploids prepared by the crosses of alpha Hp (an alpha haploid segregant from the Hp diploid) to a Hq (an a haploid from the Hq diploid) segregated two types (Type I and II) of the Ho type homothallic clone among their meiotic segregants. Genetic analyses were performed to investigate this phenomenon and the genotypes of the Ho type homothallic clones of Type I and Type II. Results of these genetic analyses have been most adequately explained by postulating three kinds of homothallic genes, each consisting of a single pair of alleles, HO/ho, HMalpha/hmalpha, and HMa/hma, respectively. One of them, the HMalpha locus, was proved to be loosely linked (64 stranes) to the mating-type locus. A spore having the HO hmalpha hma genotype gives rise to an Ho type homothallic diploid (Type I), the same as in the case of the D strain which has the HO HMalpha HMa genotype (Type II). A spore having the a HO hmalpha HMa or alpha HO HMalpha hma genotype will produce an Hp or Hq type homothallic diploid culture, respectively. The other genotypes, a HO HMalpha hma, alpha HO hmalpha HMa, and the genotypes combined with the ho allele give a heterothallic character to the spore culture. A possible molecular hypothesis for the mating-type differentiation with the controlling elements produced by the HMalpha and HMa genes is proposed.     

Switching of a Mating-Type a Mutant Allele in Budding Yeast SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE

Aimed at investigating the recovery of a specific mutant allele of the mating type locus (MAT) by switching a defective MAT allele, these experiments provide information bearing on several models proposed for MAT interconversion in bakers yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Hybrids between heterothallic (ho) cells carrying a mutant MAT a allele, designated mata-2, and MAT alpha ho strains show a high capacity for mating with MATa strains. The MAT alpha/mata-2 diploids do not sporulate. However, zygotic clones obtained by mating MAT alpha homothallic (HO) cells with mata-2 ho cells are unable to mate and can sporulate. Tetrad analysis of such clones revealed two diploid (MAT alpha/MATa):two haploid segregants. Therefore, MAT switches occur in MAT alpha/mata-2 HO/ho cells to produce MAT alpha/Mata cells capable of sporulation. In heterothallic strains, the mata-2 allele can be switched to a functional MAT alpha and subsequently to a functional MATa. Among 32 MAT alpha to MATa switches tested, where the MAT alpha was previously derived from the mata-2 mutant, only one mata-2 like isolate was observed. However, the recovered allele, unlike the parental allele, complements the matalpha ste1-5 mutant, suggesting that these alleles are not identical and that the recovered allele presumably arose as a mutation of the Mat alpha locus. No mata-2 was recovered by HO-mediated switching of MAT alpha (previously obtained from mata-2 by HO) in 217 switches analyzed. We conclude that in homothallic and heterothallic strains, the mata-2 allele can be readily switched to a functional MAT alpha and subsequently to a functional MATa locus. Overall, the results are in accord with the cassette model (HICKS, STRATHERN and HERSKOWITZ )977b) proposed to explain MAT interconversions.     

Ultraviolet Mutagenesis Studies of [psi], a Cytoplasmic Determinant of SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE

UV mutagenesis was used to probe the molecular nature of [psi], a non-mitochondrial cytoplasmic determinant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae involved in the control of nonsense suppression. The UV-induced mutation from [psi⁺] to [psi^-] showed characteristics of forward nuclear gene mutation in terms of frequency, induction kinetics, occurrence of whole and sectored mutant clones and the effect of the stage in the growth cycle on mutation frequency. The involvement of pyrimidine dimers in the premutational lesion giving the [psi^-] mutation was demonstrated by photoreactivation. UV-induced damage to the [psi] genetic determinant was shown to be repaired by nuclear-coded repair enzymes that are responsible for the repair of nuclear DNA damage. UV-induced damage to mitochondrial DNA appeared to be, at least partly, under the control of different repair processes. The evidence obtained suggests that the [psi] determinant is DNA.     

Mating-Type Differentiation by Transposition of Controlling Elements in SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE

The nonfunctional mutation of the homothallic gene HML alpha, designated hml alpha, produced two mutant alleles, hml alpha-1 and hml alpha-2. Both mutant clones were mixed cultures consisting of a mating-type cells and nonmating haploid cells. The frequencies of the two cell types were different, and a few diploid cells able to sporulate were found in the hml alpha-2 mutant. Conversions of an a mating-type cell to nonmater, and vice versa, were observed in both mutants. The conversion of an a mating phenotype to nonmating is postulated to occur by alteration of the a mating type to the sterile mating-type allele in the hml alpha-1 mutant. In tetrad dissection of prototrophic diploids that were obtained by rare mating of hml alpha-1 mutants with a heterothallic strain having the MATa ho HMRa HMLa genotype, many mating-deficient haploid segregants were found, while alpha mating-type segregants were observed in a similar diploid using an hml alpha-2 mutant. The mating-type-deficient haploid segregants were supposed to have the sterile alpha mating-type allele because the nonmating genetic trait always segregated with the mating-type locus. Sporogenous diploid cells obtained in the hml alpha-2 mutant clone had the MATa/MAT alpha HO/HO HMRa/HMRa hml alpha-2/hml alpha-2 genotype. These observations suggested that the hml alpha-1 allele produces a transposable element that gives rise to the sterile alpha mating type by transposition into the mating-type locus, and that the hml alpha-2 allele produces an element that provides alpha mating-type information, but is defective in the structure for transposition.     

An Unknown Determinant of a Sex-specific Altruism

Great tit (Parus major) males, when confronted with a source of danger that is either classifiable or inclassifiable and close to their brood, mob more than females. By staying near the source of danger longer, by mobbing it longer and more vigorously, and by approaching it more closely, males incur a greater risk than females do and therefore, appear to behave more altruistically. Since the only two accepted functional explanations, i.e. kin selection theory and self-estimation of reproductive value, fail to account for the extent and nature of this sexual difference, a new, as yet unknown determinant is postulated. It is conceivable that this cost factor operates in conjunction with self-estimation of reproductive value.     

Intracellular Population Genetics: Evidence for Random Drift of Mitochondrial Allele Frequencies in SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE and SCHIZOSACCHAROMYCES POMBE

We report evidence for random drift of mitochondrial allele frequencies in zygote clones of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Monofactorial and bifactorial crosses were done, using strains resistant or sensitive to erythromycin (alleles E^R, E^S), oligomycin (O^R, O^S), or diuron (D^R, D^S). The frequencies of resistant and sensitive cells (and thus the frequencies of the resistant and sensitive alleles) were determined for each of a number of clones of diploid cells arising from individual zygotes. Allele frequencies were extremely variable among these zygote clones; some clones were "uniparental," with mitochondrial alleles from only one parent present. These observations suggest random drift of the allele frequencies in the population of mitochondrial genes within an individual zygote and its diploid progeny. Drift would cease when all the cells in a clone become homoplasmic, due to segregation of the mitochondrial genomes during vegetative cell divisions. To test this, we delayed cell division (and hence segregation) for varying times by starving zygotes in order to give drift more time to operate. As predicted, delaying cell division resulted in an increase in the variance of allele frequencies among the zygote clones and an increase in the proportion of uniparental zygote clones. The changes in form of the allele frequency distributions resembled those seen during random drift in finite Mendelian populations. In bifactorial crosses, genotypes as well as individual alleles were fixed or lost in some zygote clones. However, the mean recombination frequency for a large number of clones did not increase when cell division was delayed. Several possible molecular mechanisms for intracellular random drift are discussed.     

Duplicated Genes Producing Transposable Controlling Elements for the Mating-Type Differentiation in SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE

Mutation of the two homothallic genes, HML alpha/HMLa and HMRa/HMR alpha, in homothallic strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was studied. Of 11 mutants of the HML alpha gene, eight were due to a phenotypic mutation from HML alpha to HMLa, i.e., a mutation causing a change in function of the original HML allele to that of the other HML allele (functional mutation), and three were due to a defective mutation at the HML alpha gene, i.e., a mutation causing a nonfunctional allele (nonfunctional mutation). All 14 mutants of the HMRa gene, on the other hand, were due to a phenotypic mutation from HMRa to HMR alpha i.e., a functional mutation. Phenotypic reverse mutations, i.e., HMLa to HML alpha and HMR alpha to HMRa, were also observed in the cultivation of EMS (ethyl methanesulfonate) treated spores having the HO HMR alpha HMLa genotype. Mutation from heterothallic cells to homothallism was observed in a nonfunctional mutant of the HML alpha gene, by mutagenesis with EMS, but not in the functional mutants of the HML alpha and HMRa genes or in the authentic strains having the alpha HO HMR alpha HML alpha (alpha Hp) and a HO HMRa HMLa (a Hq) genotypes. These observations suggest that the functional mutation is not caused by the direct mutation from a homothallic allele to the opposite, but by replacement of a transposable genic element produced from a homothallic locus with a region of a different homothallic locus. These observations also support the controlling-element model and the cassette model, which have been proposed to explain the mating-type differentiation by the homothallic genes.     

Effect of Genes Controlling Radiation Sensitivity on Chemically Induced Mutations in SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE

The effect of 16 different genes (rad) conferring radiation sensitivity on chemically induced reversion in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was determined. The site of reversion used was a well-defined chain initiation mutant mapping in the structural gene coding for iso-1-cytochrome c. High doses of EMS and HNO₂ resulted in decreased reversion of cyc1–131 in rad6, rad9 and rad15 strains compared to the normal RAD+ strains. In addition, rad52 greatly decreased EMS reversion of cyc1–131 but had not effect on HNO ₂-induced reversion; rad18, on the other hand, increased HNO ₂-induced reversion but did not alter EMS-induced reversion. When NQO was used as the mutagen, every rad gene tested, except for rad14 , had an effect on reversion; rad6, rad9, rad15, rad17, rad18, rad22, rev1, rev2 and rev3 lowered NQO reversion while rad1, rad2, rad3, rad4, rad10, rad12 and rad16 increased it compared to the RAD+ strain. The effect of rad genes on chemical mutagenesis is discussed in terms of their effect on UV mutagenesis. It is concluded that although the nature of the repair pathways may differ for UV- and chemically-induced mutations in yeast, a functional repair system is required for the induction of mutation by the chemical agents NQO, EMS and HNO₂.     

基于锁核酸及等位位点特异性扩增技术的KRAS基因突变检测荧光定量PCR方法研究

基于等位位点特异性扩增的原理,设计锁核酸修饰KRAS基因突变特异性扩增引物,结合封阻探针技术,建立检测KRAS基因突变的荧光定量PCR方法。结果发现,锁核酸修饰的引物及探针可显著提高等位位点特异性扩增技术用于复杂样本中的微量基因突变检测的敏感度,该技术检测KRAS基因突变的敏感性可达0.01%~0.1%。进一步用建立的荧光定量PCR方法检测52例结直肠癌患者血浆标本,并用DNA测序法作为对照,同时用健康人血浆标本建立阴性检测结果判读标准,以初步评价该方法应用于循环DNA中KRAS基因突变检测的可行性。结果发现结直肠癌患者KRAS基因突变主要是G12C、G12A和G12R,而且q PCR法的阳性检出率为46.15%,高于DNA测序法(13.46%),阴性结果与DNA测序法的符合率为100%。此外,结直肠癌患者外周血KRAS基因的突变检出率与文献报道组织标本中的突变检出率及常见突变类型基本相符。上述结果说明该方法检测循环肿瘤DNA(circulating tumor DNA,ct DNA)具有较高的可靠性,可以用于肿瘤患者循环血液中KRAS基因突变的检测。     

两对互补的显性基因控制着柑桔属和枳属的无融合生殖

无融合生殖具有重要的学术价值和应用价值。这种生殖方式普遍存在于 柑桔属及其近缘属植物中,对母本分别为单胚（即有性生殖）的宽皮柑桔品种克力迈丁和韦尔金,父本分别为多胚（即无融合生殖）的甜橙品种锦橙,新会橙,桃叶橙和哈姆林的杂种F1代群体总计8个杂交组合的229个开花结果后代,进行了胚性分离的调查,发现F1代中既有有性生殖,也有无融合生殖,有性生殖与无融合生殖的分离比例,在韦尔金后代中接近1：2,而在克力迈丁后代中接近1：1。根据该结果,结合前人的研究资料,提出在柑桔属和枳属或者还包括其他柑桔近缘属中,无融合生殖受到位于细胞核的两对互补的显性基因A1和A2的调控,且其中一对基因,设为A1表现显性纯合致死效应,两对基因的分离重组符合孟德尔的分离定律和自由组合定律,按该模式可以较为合理地解释已有的大部分常规杂交资料。     

The Plantain Proteome,a Focus on Allele Specific Proteins Obtained from Plantain Fruits

Proteomics has been applied with great potential to elucidate molecular mechanisms in plants. This is especially valid in the case of non‐model crops of which their genome has not been sequenced yet, or is not well annotated. Plantains are a kind of cooking bananas that are economically very important in Africa, India, and Latin America. The aim of this work was to characterize the fruit proteome of common dessert bananas and plantains and to identify proteins that are only encoded by the plantain genome. We present the first plantain fruit proteome. All data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD005589. Using our in‐house workflow, we found 37 alleles to be unique for plantain covered by 59 peptides. Although we do not have access (yet) to whole‐genome sequencing data from triploid banana cultivars, we show that proteomics is an easily accessible complementary alternative to detect different allele specific SNPs/SAAPs. These unique alleles might contribute toward the differences in the metabolism between dessert bananas and plantains. This dataset will stimulate further analysis by the scientific community, boost plantain research, and facilitate plantain breeding.