Intracellular population genetics: evidence for random drift of mitochondrial allele frequencies in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

Genetics
K M Thrailkill, C W Birky

Abstract

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 Er, Es), oligomycin (Or, Os), or diuron (Dr, Ds). 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 zy...Continue Reading

Citations

Jan 1, 1984·Current Genetics·J E Lewis, C W Birky
Jan 1, 1981·TAG. Theoretical and applied genetics. Theoretische und angewandte Genetik·R A Tilney-Bassett, C W Birky
Apr 5, 1988·Journal of Molecular Biology·J A MurrayP Argos
Apr 24, 2010·BioEssays : News and Reviews in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology·Jui-Yu Chou, Jun-Yi Leu

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