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PMID: 8531892 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S. Review

Chromosome-length polymorphism in fungi.

Microbiological reviews ·Vol. 59 ·No. 4 ·1995-12-00 ·Pages 686-98

Zolan ME

Abstract

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.

MeSH Terms
Chromosomes, Fungal/genetics Fungi/genetics Karyotyping Meiosis Mitosis Polymorphism, Genetic/genetics
Authors & Affiliations
1 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Zolan M E
Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington 47405, USA.
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Article Info
Journal
Microbiological reviews
Abbr.
Microbiol Rev
ISSN
0146-0749
DOI
10.1128/mr.59.4.686-698.1995
Published
1995-12-00
Pages
686-98
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
7806086
PMCID
PMC239395
Subset
IM
Grants
NIGMS NIH HHS · GM43930 · United States
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1128/mr.59.4.686-698.1995 PMC Full Text
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