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. 1988 Oct;120(2):409–422. doi: 10.1093/genetics/120.2.409

Lethal and Amanitin-Resistance Mutations in the Caenorhabditis Elegans Ama-1 and Ama-2 Genes

T M Rogalski 1, AME Bullerjahn 1, D L Riddle 1
PMCID: PMC1203520  PMID: 3197954

Abstract

Mutants of Caenorhabditis elegans resistant to α-amanitin have been isolated at a frequency of about 1.6 X 10(-6) after EMS mutagenesis of the wild-type strain, N2. Four new dominant resistance mutations have been studied genetically. Three are alleles of a previously identified gene, ama-1 IV, encoding the largest subunit of RNA polymerase II. The fourth mutation defines a new gene, ama-2 V. Unlike the ama-1 alleles, the ama-2 mutation exhibits a recessive-lethal phenotype. Growth and reproduction of N2 was inhibited at a concentration of 10 μg/ml amanitin, whereas ama-2/+ animals were inhibited at 100 μg/ml, and 800 μg/ml was required to inhibit growth of ama-1/+ larvae. We have also determined that two reference strains used for genetic mapping, dpy-11(e224)V and sma-1(e30)V, are at least four-fold more sensitive to amanitin that the wild-type strain. Using an amanitin-resistant ama-1(m118) or ama-1(m322) strain as a parent, we have isolated amanitin-sensitive mutants that carry recessive-lethal ama-1 alleles. The frequency of EMS-induced lethal ama-1 mutations is approximately 1.7 X 10(-3), 1000-fold higher than the frequency of amanitin-resistance alleles. Nine of the lethal alleles are apparent null mutations, and they exhibit L1-lethal phenotypes at both 20° and 25°. Six alleles result in partial loss of RNA polymerase II function as determined by their sterile phenotypes at 20°. All but one of these latter mutations exhibit a more severe phenotype at 25°C. We have also selected seven EMS-induced revertants of three different ama-1 lethals. These revertants restore dominant resistance to amanitin. The selection for revertants also produced eight new dominant amanitin resistance alleles on the balancer chromosome, nT1.

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Selected References

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