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. 1985 Mar;109(3):481–492. doi: 10.1093/genetics/109.3.481

Mutations Leading to Expression of the Cryptic HMR a Locus in the Yeast SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE

Yona Kassir 1, Giora Simchen 1
PMCID: PMC1216283  PMID: 3884439

Abstract

Mutations leading to expression of the silent HMR a information in Saccharomyces cerevisiae result in sporulation proficiency in mata1/MATα diploids. An example of such a mutation is sir5-2, a recessive mutation in the gene SIR5. As expected, haploids carrying the sir5-2 mutation are nonmaters due to the simultaneous expression of HMRa and HMLα, resulting in the nonmating phenotype of an a/α diploid. However, sir5-2/sir5-2 mata1/MATα diploids mate as α yet are capable of sporulation. The sir5-2 mutation is unlinked to sir1-1, yet the two mutations do not complement each other: mata1/MATα sir5-2/SIR5 SIR1/sir1-1 diploids are capable of sporulation. In this case, recessive mutations in two unlinked genes form a mutant phenotype, in spite of the presence of the normal wild-type alleles.—The PAS1-1 mutation, Provider of a Sporulation function, is a dominant mutation tightly linked to HMRa. PAS1-1 does not affect the mating ability of a strain, yet it allows diploids lacking a functional MATa locus to sporulate. It is proposed that PAS1-1 leads to partial expression of the otherwise cryptic a1 information at HMRa.

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Selected References

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