An ameiotic mutant of Coprinus cinereus halted prior to pre-meiotic S-phase

Summary

Five Coprinus cinereus monokaryons were isolated which bore a dominant mutation designated Mar. Dikaryons formed by mating Mar-bearing monokaryons with normal monokaryons produced aborted fruiting bodies in which the basidia never underwent karyogamy. The Mar mutation probably prevented pre-meiotic DNA replication; extracts of Mar-bearing dikaryons harvested at a stage equivalent to pre-meiotiv S-phase caused little net DNA synthesis in DNA polymerase assays. There was no marked incorporation of 32p into DNA (and low incorporation of 32p into RNA) of cap tissue from Mar-bearing fruiting bodies at a stage equivalent to pre-meiotic S-phase. The aborted fruiting bodies were similar to those resulting on normal cultures following treatment prior to S-phase with cycloheximide, or continuous light at 35 °C. In contrast to normal C. cinereus monokaryons, no Mar-bearing monokaryon formed fruiting bodies when subjected to nutritional stress.