Premeiotic disruption of the Neurospora crassa malate synthase gene by native and divergent DNAs

Abstract

Repeat-induced point mutation (RIP) has been used to generate new mutations in the previously uncharacterised gene for malate synthase in Neurospora crassa. Molecular clones carrying the am (NADP-glutamate dehydrogenase) gene and the malate synthase gene from either N. crassa or Aspergillus nidulans have been introduced into Neurospora as ectopic duplicate copies by transformation, selecting for the am+ function in a deletion host. A number of meiotic progeny derived from these transformants were unable to use acetate as sole carbon source, yielded no detectable malate synthase activity and demonstrated extensive cytosine methylation of their duplicated sequences. The new locus has been designated acu-9 and has been assigned to linkage group VII.