Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T13:38:00.906Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Temperature-sensitive mutants of Physarum polycephalum – expression of mutations in amoebae and plasmodia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 April 2009

Tim Burland  and
Jennifer Dee
Tim Burland
Affiliation:
Genetics Department, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, U.K.
Jennifer Dee
Affiliation:
Genetics Department, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, U.K.
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Over 100 temperature-sensitive mutants of mt-h (apogamic) strains of Physarum polycephalum were isolated either by testing clones of mutagenized amoebae (ATS mutants) or by the more laborious method of testing plasmodia derived from such clones (PTS mutants). When amoebae and plasmodia of each mutant were tested for growth temperature sensitivity on different media (to give optimum growth of each phase), only 21% of 73 ATS mutants and 32% of 31 PTS mutants appeared to be temperature-sensitive in both phases, suggesting that the majority of mutants are phase-specific, as concluded from several similar studies by previous authors. When the mutants were tested on a third medium which allows growth of both amoebae and plasmodia, many of the mutants no longer had a temperature-sensitive phenotype in either phase. Among the remainder, 51% of ATS mutants and 67% of PTS mutants were temperature-sensitive in both phases. It was suggested that certain media have a remedial effect on some temperature-sensitive mutants so that the phenotype is apparently normal. Thus, the proportion of phase-specific mutants may be over-estimated if tests of temperature-sensitivity are done on the different media commonly used for culture of amoebae and plasmodia respectively. It was concluded that the most efficient procedure for isolation of temperature-sensitive mutants expressed in plasmodia is to screen clones of amoebae on a medium resembling as closely as possible that which is to be used for testing plasmodia.

Type
Research Article
Information
Genetics Research , Volume 34 , Issue 1 , August 1979 , pp. 33 - 40
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1979

References

REFERENCES

Adler, P. N. & Holt, C. E. (1977). Mutations increasing asexual plasmodium formation in Physarum polycephalum. Genetics 87, 401–420.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Anderson, R. W. (1977). A plasmodial colour mutation in the Myxomycete Physarum polycephalum. Genetical Research 30, 301–306.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, R. W. (1979). Complementation of amoebal–plasmodial transition mutants in Physarum polycephalum. Genetics. (In the Press.)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bilsky, A. Z. & Armstrong, J. B. (1973). Osmotic reversal of temperature sensitivity in Escherichia coli. Journal of Bacteriology 113, 76–81.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Braun, R., Mittermayer, C. & Rusch, H. P. (1965). Sequential temporal replication of DNA in Physarum polycephalum. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 53, 924–931.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burland, T. G. (1978). Temperature-sensitive mutants of Physarum polycephalum. Ph.D. Thesis, Leicester University.Google Scholar
Cooke, D. J. & Dee, J. (1974). Plasmodium formation without change in nuclear DNA content in Physarum polycephalwm. Genetical Research 23, 307–317.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davidow, L. S. & Holt, C. E. (1977). Mutants with decreased differentiation to plasmodia in Physarum polycephalum. Molecular and General Genetics 155, 291–300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dee, J. (1975). Slime moulds in biological research. Science Progress, Oxford, 62. 523–542.Google ScholarPubMed
Dee, J. & Poulter, R. T. M. (1970). A gene conferring actidione resistance morphology on Physarum polycephalum plasmodia. Genetical Research 15, 35–41.Google Scholar
Castillo, L. Del, Oustrin, M. L. & Wright, M. (1978). Characterisation of thermosensitive mutants of Physarum polycephalum. Molecular and General Genetics 164, 145–154.Google Scholar
Gingold, E. C., Grant, W. D., Wheals, A. E. & Wren, M. (1976). Temperature-sensitive mutants of the slime-mould Physarum polycephalum. II. Mutants of the plasmodial phase. Molecular and General Genetics 149, 115–119.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goodman, E. M. (1972). Axenic culture of myxamoebae of the Myxomycete Physarum polycephalum. Journal of Bacteriology 111, 242–247.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gorman, J. A. & Dove, W. F. (1974). A method of indirect mutant selection in Physarum polycephalum using the antibiotic Netropsin. Molecular and General Genetics 133, 345–351.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Haugli, F. B. & Dove, W. F. (1972). Mutagenesis and mutant selection in Physarum polycephalum. Molecular and General Genetics 118, 109–124.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Howard, F. L. (1932). Nuclear division in plasmodia of Physarum. Annals of Botany 46, 461–477.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laffler, T. G., Wilkins, A., Selvig, S., Warren, N., Klein-Schmidt, A. & Dove, W. F. (1979). Temperature-sensitive mutants of Physarum polycephalum affecting viability, growth and nuclear replication. Journal of Bacteriology. (In the Press.)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCullough, C. H. R. & Dee, J. (1976). Defined and semi-defined media for the growth of amoebae of Physarum polycephalum. Journal of General Microbiology 95, 151–158.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McCullough, C. H. R., Dee, J. & Foxon, J. L. (1978). Genetic factors determining the growth of Physarum polycephalum amoebae in axenic medium. Journal of General Microbiology 106, 297–306.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mir, L., Castillo, L. Del & Wright, M. (1979). Isolation of Physarum amoebal mutants defective in flagellation and associated morphogenetic processes. FEMS Microbiology Letters 5, 43–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Russell, R. R. B. (1972). Temperature-sensitive osmotic remedial mutants of Escherichia coli. Journal of Bacteriology 112, 661–665.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sudbery, P., Haugli, K. & Haugli, F. (1978). Enrichment and screening of heat-sensitive mutants of Physarum polycephalum. Genetical Research 31, 1–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wheals, A. E. (1970). A homothallic strain of the Myxomycete Physarum polycephalum. Genetics 66, 623–633.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wheals, A. E., Grant, W. D. & Jockusch, B. M. (1976). Temperature-sensitive mutants of the slime mould Physarum polycephalum. I. Mutants of the amoebal phase. Molecular and General Genetics 149, 111–114.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Youngman, P. J., Adler, P. N., Shinnick, T. M. & Holt, C. E. (1977). An extracellular inducer of asexual plasmodium formation in Physarum polycephalum. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 74, 1120–1124.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed