Open AccessEscape From Repeat-Induced Point Mutation of a Gene-Sized Duplication in Neurospora crassa Crosses That Are Heterozygous for a Larger Chromosome Segment Duplication
Author(s) -
Ashwin Bhat,
Durgadas P. Kasbekar
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
genetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.792
H-Index - 246
eISSN - 1943-2631
pISSN - 0016-6731
DOI - 10.1093/genetics/157.4.1581
Subject(s) - gene duplication , biology , neurospora crassa , genetics , crassa , point mutation , gene , chromosome , mutation , mutant
In Neurospora crassa the ability of an ectopic gene-sized duplication to induce repeat-induced point mutation (RIP) in its target gene was suppressed in crosses that were heterozygous for another larger chromosome segment duplication. Specifically, the frequency of RIP in the erg-3 gene due to a 1.3-kb duplication was reduced if the chromosome segment duplications Dp(IIIR > [I;II]) AR17, Dp(VIR > IIIR) OY329, or Dp(IVR > VII) S1229 were present in either the same or the other parental nucleus of the premeiotic dikaryon. We suggest that the larger duplications act as sinks to titrate the RIP machinery away from the smaller duplication. In contrast, RIP efficiency was relatively unaffected in comparably unproductive interspecies crosses with N. intermedia and N. tetrasperma. These findings offer a novel explanation for the observed persistence of the transposable element Tad in only a subset of Neurospora strains.