Open AccessEnvironmental Factors Can Influence Mitochondrial Inheritance in the Saccharomyces Yeast Hybrids
Author(s) -
YuKuei Hsu,
Jui-Yu Chou
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0169953
Subject(s) - mitochondrial dna , biology , non mendelian inheritance , genetics , mendelian inheritance , saccharomyces cerevisiae , inheritance (genetic algorithm) , ploidy , hybrid , extranuclear inheritance , mating type , nuclear gene , mitochondrion , nuclear dna , model organism , yeast , gene , botany
Mitochondria play a critical role in the generation of metabolic energy and are crucial for eukaryotic cell survival and proliferation. In most sexual eukaryotes, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is inherited from only one parent in non-Mendelian inheritance in contrast to the inheritance of nuclear DNA. The model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae is commonly used to study mitochondrial biology. It has two mating types: MATa and MATα. Previous studies have suggested that the mtDNA inheritance patterns in hybrid diploid cells depend on the genetic background of parental strains. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. To elucidate the mechanisms, we examined the effects of environmental factors on the mtDNA inheritance patterns in hybrids obtained by crossing S . cerevisiae with its close relative S . paradoxus . The results demonstrated that environmental factors can influence mtDNA transmission in hybrid diploids, and that the inheritance patterns are strain dependent. The fitness competition assay results showed that the fitness differences can explain the mtDNA inheritance patterns under specific conditions. However, in this study, we found that fitness differences cannot fully be explained by mitochondrial activity in hybrids under stress conditions.