The Chlamydomonas Zygospore: Mutant Strains of Chlamydomonas monoica Blocked in Zygospore Morphogenesis Comprise 46 Complementation Groups

Corresponding author: Karen VanWinkle-Swift, Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5640, swift{at}nauvax.ucc.nau.edu (E-mail).

Communicating editor: S. L. ALLEN

Chlamydomonas monoica undergoes homothallic sexual reproduction in response to nitrogen starvation. Mating pairs are established in clonal culture via flagellar agglutination and fuse by way of activated mating structures to form the quadriflagellate zygote. The zygote further matures into a dormant diploid zygospore through a series of events that we collectively refer to as zygosporulation. Mutants that arrest development prior to the completion of zygosporulation have been obtained through the use of a variety of mutagens, including ultraviolet irradiation, 5-fluorodeoxyuridine, ethyl methanesulfonate, and methyl methanesulfonate. Complementation analysis indicates that the present mutant collection includes alleles affecting 46 distinct zygote-specific functions. The frequency with which alleles at previously defined loci have been recovered in the most recent mutant searches suggests that as many as 30 additional zygote-specific loci may still remain to be identified. Nevertheless, the present collection should provide a powerful base for ultrastructural, biochemical, and molecular analysis of zygospore morphogenesis and dormancy in Chlamydomonas.

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