Auxotrophic yeast cells were starved on solid media for their respective essential amino acid in the course of "adaptive mutation" experiments. Thereby, high proportions of mitochondrially respiratory deficient (rho-) mutants accumulated among the cells stressed on selective plates. Using a strain with a plus-four frameshift mutation in a chromosomal gene involved in lysine biosynthesis, we observed that many of the revertant colonies which arose late under the selective pressure were composed of mixtures of rho+ and rho- cells, indicating that they originated from founder cells containing intact as well as defective mitochondrial genomes. We show that in spite of the slower growth of rho- cells the late-appearing colonies cannot be interpreted as descending from rho- revertants present before selective plating.

• PMID: 9162112
• DOI full text
• PubMed
• PubTator

Reference Type

Journal Article | Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Authors

Heidenreich E, Wintersberger U

Primary Lit For

Additional Lit For

LYS2

Review For