Microbiol. Rev., Dec 1995, 686-698, Vol 59, No. 4
ME Zolan
The examination of fungal chromosomes by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis
has revealed that length polymorphism is widespread in both sexual and
asexual species. This review summarizes characteristics of fungal
chromosome-length polymorphism and possible mitotic and meiotic mechanisms
of chromosome length change. Most fungal chromosome- length polymorphisms
are currently uncharacterized with respect to content and origin. However,
it is clear that long tandem repeats, such as tracts of rRNA genes, are
frequently variable in length and that other chromosomal rearrangements are
suppressed during normal mitotic growth. Dispensable chromosomes and
dispensable chromosome regions, which have been well documented for some
fungi, also contribute to the variability of the fungal karyotype. For
sexual species, meiotic recombination increases the overall karyotypic
variability in a population while suppressing genetic translocations. The
range of karyotypes observed in fungi indicates that many karyotypic
changes may be genetically neutral, at least under some conditions. In
addition, new linkage combinations of genes may also be advantageous in
allowing adaptation of fungi to new environments.
Copyright © 1995, American Society for Microbiology
Chromosome-length polymorphism in fungi
Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington 47405, USA.
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