[Chromosome stability in saccharomycete yeasts]

Abstract

Mutants with high instability of chromosome III designated Chl+ (chromosome loss) were obtained after irradiation with UV the Z4221-3c1 haploid disomic for chromosome III. The Chl+ mutants can be divided into two classes: 1) CL2, CL3, CL7, CL9, CL11, CL12, CL13 with elevated level of spontaneous inter- and intragenic recombination; 2) CL4, CL8 which unstable maintenance of chromosome III not accompanied with elevation of mitotic recombination frequency. The CL4 and CL8 mutants also reveal, in contrast to other mutants, unstable maintenance of artificial mini-chromosomes with chromosomal replicator ARS1 and centromeric loci CEN3, CEN4, CEN5, CEN6, CEN11. Substitution of ARS1 for other yeast replicators (ARS2, ARS of 2 micron plasmid) leads to no stabilization of mini-chromosomes in mutants. The noncentromeric plasmids containing homologous replicator (or replicators) from Candida maltosa are maintained with the same frequency both in wild type and in mutants. So, the stability of mini-chromosomes in CL4 and CL8 is not connected with uneffective replication of these chromosomes. Instability of chromosome III and mini-chromosomes in CL4 and CL8 is controlled by two nonallelic genes designated chl14 and chl18. We suppose that these genes control the process of centromere interaction with mitotic spindle microtubules.