Rapid disappearance of one parental mitochondrial genotype after isogamous mating in the myxomycete Physarum polycephalum

Abstract

Five haploid amoebal strains of the myxomycete Physarum polycephalum, each with a distinct mitochondrial genotype, were crossed in all pairwise combinations. The mitochondrial genotype in the diploid plasmodia resulting from these isogamous matings were found to be transmitted uniparentally. This uniparental inheritance could be arranged in a dominant hierarchical order. Time-course analysis of the presence of mitochondrial genotypes in the zygotes and young developing plasmodia show that elimination of one parental mitochondrial genotype is virtually completed during the first two nuclear cycles in the zygote/differentiating plasmodium. To our knowledge this is the first report indicating an active mechanism involving the degradation of mitochondrial genomes in sexual crosses.