MULTIPLE ALLELISM AT THEMATB LOCUS INPHYSARUM POLYCEPHALUM

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Each of the natural plasmodial isolates of Physarum polycephalum studied contains two different alleles for the matB and the matA loci. This result is further evidence for the presence of a two-locus system for limiting inbreeding in nature. Only amoebae carrying different matB alleles will fuse efficiently and only those diploid amoebae heterozygous for the matA locus will differentiate with a high frequency. Both the matA and matB loci are multiallelic. In this work ten new mat B alleles were found, bringing to 13 the number of known alleles; there are a minimum of 13 alleles at the matA locus (Collins and Tang, 1977). The presence of a large number of alleles at each of these loci increases the probability that in nature amoebae from different plasmodia are sexually compatible.