Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Variation of gene conversion and intragenic recombination frequencies in the genome of Ascobolus immersus

  • Published:
Molecular and General Genetics MGG Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Summary

Eighty mutants in 17 ascospore character genes were studied for their conversion patterns. The correlation between conversion pattern and mutagenic origin, previously found in genes b1 and b2 was extended to all the genes studied. Aberrant 4:4 asci were found in most genes irrespective of their conversion frequency. From gene to gene, the conversion frequency showed an almost 100 times variation. The frequency of intragenic recombination also showed sharp variation from gene to gene. The mean conversion frequency and the maximal intragenic recombination frequency were shown to be highly correlated in 5 genes for which these 2 values are known. This correlation was extended to 12 other genes in other Ascomycetes: Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Neurospora, and Sordaria. From this study it is concluded that, 1) the probability of hybrid DNA formation undergoes considerable changes according to the region of the genome; 2) the intragenic recombination frequency primarily reflects the frequency of hybrid DNA formation rather than the physical length of the gene; 3) for a given physical distance on the DNA, a similar fraction of the gene conversion events lead to recombination in the 5 Ascomycetes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ballantyne, G.H., Chovnick, A.: Gene conversion in higher organisms: non reciprocal recombination events at the rosy cistron in Drosophila melanogaster. Genet. Res. 17, 139–149 (1971)

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlson, P.S.: A genetic analysis of the rudimentary locus of Drosophila melanogaster. Genet. Res. 17, 53–81 (1971)

    Google Scholar 

  • Case, M.E., Giles, N.H.: Evidence from tetrad analysis for both normal and abnormal recombination between allelic mutants in Neurospora crassa. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 44, 378–390 (1958)

    Google Scholar 

  • Case, M.E., Giles, N.H.: Recombination mechanisms at the pan2 locus in Neurospora crassa. Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol. 23, 119–135 (1958)

    Google Scholar 

  • Case, M.E., Giles, N.H.: Alletic recombination in Neurospora tetrad analysis of a three-point cross within the pan-2 locus. Genetics 49, 529–540 (1964)

    Google Scholar 

  • Catcheside, D.G.: Fungal genetics. An. Rev. Genet. 8, 278–300 (1974)

    Google Scholar 

  • Catcheside, D.G.: In: The genetics of recombination (K.R. Lewis, B. John, eds.), 172 pp. London: Arnold 1977

    Google Scholar 

  • Dicaprio, L., Hastings, P.J.: Gene conversion and intragenic recombination at the Sup6 locus and the surrounding region in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Genetics, 84, 697–721 (1976)

    Google Scholar 

  • Exposito, M.S.: Xray and meiotic fine structure mapping of the adenine-8 locus in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Genetics 58, 507–527 (1968)

    Google Scholar 

  • Fields, W.G., Olive, L.S.: The genetics of Sordaria brevicollis. III. Gene conversion involving a series of hyaline ascospore color mutants. Genetics 57, 483–493 (1967)

    Google Scholar 

  • Fogel, S., Hurst, D.D.: Meiotic gene conversion in yeast tetrads and the theory of recombination. Genetics 57, 455–481 (1967)

    Google Scholar 

  • Fogel, S., Hurst, D.D., Mortimer, R.K.: Gene conversion in unselected tetrads from multipoint crosses. 2nd Stadler Genetics Symp. Univ. 89–110 (1971)

  • Fogel, S., Mortimer, R.K.: Recombination in yeast. An. Rev. Genet. 5, 219–236 (1971)

    Google Scholar 

  • Fogel, S., Mortimer, R.K.: Gene conversion and mismatched base repair in hybrid DNA. Genetics 77 suppl. 522 (1974)

    Google Scholar 

  • Fogel, S., Mortimer, R.K., Lusnak, K., Lusnak, K., Tavares, F.: Meiotic gene conversion. A signal of the basic recombination event in yest. Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol. 43, 1325–1341 (1979)

    Google Scholar 

  • Girard, J., Rossignol, J-L.: The suppression of gene conversion and intragenic crossing-over in Ascobolus immersus: evidence of modifiers acting at the heterozygous state. Genetics 76, 221–243 (1974)

    Google Scholar 

  • Gutz, H.: Site specific induction of gene conversion in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Genetics 69, 317–337 (1971)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hastings, P.J.: Some aspects of recombination in eukaryotic organisms. An. Rev. Genet. 9, 129–144 (1975)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hofer, F., Hollenstein, H., Janner, F., Minet, M., Thuriaux, P., Leupold, U.: The genetic fine structure of Nonsense suppressors in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. I. sup3 and sup9. Mol. Gen. Genet. (in press, 1979)

  • Holliday, R.: Genetic recombination in fungi. In: Replication and recombination of genetic material W.J. Peacock, R.D. Brock, eds.), pp. 157–174, Camberra: Aust. Acad. Sci. (1968)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hurst, D.D., Fogel, S., Mortimer, R.K.: Conversion associated recombination in yeast. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 69, 101–105 (1972)

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitani, Y., Olive, L.S.: Genetics of Sordaria fimicola. VI. Gene conversion at the g locus in mutant x wild-type crosses. Genetics 57, 767–782 (1967)

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitani, Y., Olive, L.S.: Genetics of Sordaria fimicola. VII. Gene conversion at the g locus in interallelic crosses. Genetics 62, 23–66 (1969)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lamb, B.C.: The use of gene conversion of study synaptonemal complex structure and molecular details of chromatid pairing in meiosis. Mol. Gen. Genet. 157, 31–37 (1977)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lawrence, C., Sherman, F., Jackson, M., Gilmore, R.: Mapping and gene conversion studies with the structural gene for iso-1 cytochrome C in yeast. Genetics 81, 615–629 (1975)

    Google Scholar 

  • Leblon, G.: Mechanism of gene conversion in Ascobolus immersus. I. Existence of a correlation between the origin of mutants induced by different mutagens and their conversion spectrum. Mol. Gen. Genet. 115, 36–48 (1972)

    Google Scholar 

  • Leblon, G.: Mise en evidence et propriétés d'un mécanisme de correction mutant spécifique à l'origine des conversions chez Ascobolus immersus. Thèse Doctorat-ès-Sciences, 217 pp. Université Paris-Sud, Centre d'Orsay (1974)

  • Leblon, G., Rossignol, J-L.: Mechanism of gene conversion in Ascobolus immersus. III. The interaction of heteroalleles in the conversion process. Mol. Gen. Genet. 122, 265–282 (1973)

    Google Scholar 

  • Leupold, U., Gutz, H.: Genetic fine structure in Schizosaccharomyces. The Hague, The Nederlands: Proc. XIth Int. Congr. Genetics 2, 31–35 (1963)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lissouba, P., Mousseau, J., Rizet, G., Rossignol, J-L.: Fine structure of genes in Ascobolus immersus. Adv. Genet. 11, 343–380 (1962)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lissouba, P., Rizet, G.: Sur l'existence d'une unité génétique polarisée ne subissant que des échanges non réciproques. C.R. Acad. Sci. Paris 250, 3408–3410 (1960)

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, M.B.: Aberrant recombination of pyrimidine mutants of Neurospora. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 41, 215–220 (1955)

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, C.W., Sherman, F.: Role of DNA sequences in genetic recombination in the iso-1-cytochrome C gene of yeast. II. Comparison of mutants altered at the same and nearby base pairs. Genetics 85, 1–22 (1977)

    Google Scholar 

  • Mousseau, J.: Analyse de la structure fine d'un gène chez Ascobolus immersus. Contribution à l'étude de la recombinaison méiotique Ph. D. thesis. Université de Paris (1967)

  • Murray, N.E.: Polarized recombination and fine structure within the me-2 gene of Neurospora crassa. Genetics, 48, 1163–1183 (1963)

    Google Scholar 

  • Murray, N.E.: Recombination events that span sites within neighbouring gene loci of Neurospora. Genet. Res. 15, 109–121 (1970)

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicolas, A.: Carte génétique et fréquences de conversion dans le génome d'Ascobolus immersus. Thèse Doctorat 3ème cycle, 108 pp. Université Paris-Sud, Centre d'Orsay (1978)

  • Nicolas, A., Haedens, V., Rossignol, J-L.: Ascospore mutants and linkage map of Ascobolus immersus (manuscript in preparation)

  • Paquette, N.: Detection of aberrant 4:4 asci in Ascobolus immersus Can. J. Genet. Cytol. 20, 9–17 (1978)

    Google Scholar 

  • Paquette, N., Rossignol, J-L.: Gene conversion spectrum of 15 mutants giving postmeiotic segregation in the b2 locus of Ascobolus immersus. Mol. Gen. Genet. 163, 313–326 (1978)

    Google Scholar 

  • Rizet, G., Engelmann, C., Lefort, C., Lissouba, P., Mousseau, J.: Sur un Ascomycète intéressant pour l'étude de certains aspects du problème de la structure du gène. C.R. Acad. Sci. [D] (Paris) 250, 2050–2052 (1960)

    Google Scholar 

  • Rizet, G., Rossignol, J-L.: Sur la dimension probable des échanges réciproques au sein d'un locus d'Ascobolus immersus C.R. Acad. Sci. [D] (Paris) 1250–1253 (1966)

  • Rizet, G., Rossignol, J-L., Lefort, C.: Sur la variété et la spécificité des spectres d'anomalies de ségrégations chez Ascobolus immersus. C.R. Acad. Sci. [D] (Paris) 269, 1427–1430 (1969)

    Google Scholar 

  • Rossignol, J-L.: Phénomènes de recombination intragénique et unité fonctionnelle d'un locus chez l'Ascobolus immersus. Thèse IIIème cycle. Fac. Sci. Orsay (1964)

  • Rossignol, J-L.: Existence of homogeneous categories of mutants exhibiting various conversion patterns in gene 75 of Ascobolus immersus. Genetics 63, 795–805 (1969)

    Google Scholar 

  • Rossignol, J-L., Paquette, N.: Disparity of gene conversion in frameshift mutants located in the locus b2 of Ascobolus immersus. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 76, 2871–2875 (1979)

    Google Scholar 

  • Rossignol, J-L., Paquette, N., Nicolas, A.: Aberrant 4:4 asci, disparity in the direction of conversion and frequencies of conversion in Ascobolus immersus. Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol. 43, 1343–1352 (1979)

    Google Scholar 

  • Stadler, D.R.: The mechanism of intragenic recombination. An. Rev. Genet. 7, 113–127 (1973)

    Google Scholar 

  • Stadler, D., Towe, A.: Evidence for meiotic recombination in Ascobolus involving only one member of a tetrad. Genetics 68, 401–413 (1971)

    Google Scholar 

  • Thuriaux, P.: Is recombination confined to structural genes on the eukaryotic genome? Nature 268, 460–462 (1977)

    Google Scholar 

  • Thuriaux, P., Minet, M., Munz, P., Zbaeren, D., Ahmad, A., Leupold, U.: Gene conversion nonsense suppressors of Schizosaccharomyces pombe. II. Specific marker effects. Current Genetics (in press)

  • Touré, B.: Les événements de recombinaison méiotique dans le locus complexe 14 du Podospora anserina: leur dimension, leur relation avec la position des sites et la nature des mutations. Thèse Doctorat Sciences 122 pp. Fac. Sci d'Orsay

  • Whitehouse, H.L.K., Hastings, P.J.: The analysis of genetic recombination on the polaron hybrid DNA model. Genet. Res. 6, 27–92 (1965)

    Google Scholar 

  • Yu-Sun, C.C.C.: Biochemical and morphological mutants of Ascobolus immersus. Genetics 50, 987–998 (1964)

    Google Scholar 

  • Yu-Sun, C.C.C.: Linkage groupes in Ascobolus immersus. Genetika 37, 569–580 (1966)

    Google Scholar 

  • Yu-Sun, C.C.C.: Wickramaratne, M.R.T., Whitehouse, H.L.K.: Mutagen specificity in conversion pattern in Sordaria brevicollis. Genet. Res. 29, 65–81 (1977)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Génétique, Université Paris-Sud, Bât. 400, F-91405, Orsay-Cedex, France

    A. Nicolas

Authors
  1. A. Nicolas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

Communicated by W. Gajewski

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Nicolas, A. Variation of gene conversion and intragenic recombination frequencies in the genome of Ascobolus immersus . Molec. Gen. Genet. 176, 129–138 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00334304

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00334304

Keywords

Search

Navigation