Isolation of homozygous mutants after induced self-fertilization in Tetrahymena.

Abstract

Genomic exclusion, an unusual cytogenetic sequence during mating in Tetrahymena pyriformis, results in the production of homozygous germinal nuclei by the diploidization of haploid nuclei following meiosis. A method is presented for selecting cells that have made new somatic nuclei from these homozygous germinal nuclei, a step necessary for phenotypic expression of new mutations; this variation of the normal set of events is termed short-circuit genomic exclusion. The utility of thisapproach for obtaining induced mutations is demonstrated by the isolation and analysis of a strain homozygous for a recessive mutation conferring resistance to 2-fluoroadenosine. Occurring in about 5% of the unmutagenized pairs in specific crosses, short-circuit genomic exclusion should be of general use for the isolation of dominant or recessive induced mutations in this protozoan.