Sexual reproduction as a response to H sub 2 O sub 2 damage in Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Journal Article · Sat Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1989 · Journal of Bacteriology; (USA)

OSTI ID:6991610

Bernstein, C; Johns, V ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Arizona, Tucson (USA)

Although sexual reproduction is widespread, its adaptive advantage over asexual reproduction is unclear. One major advantage of sex may be its promotion of recombinational repair of DNA damage during meiosis. This idea predicts that treatment of the asexual form of a facultatively sexual-asexual eucaryote with a DNA-damaging agent may cause it to enter the sexual cycle more frequently. Endogenous hydrogen peroxide is a major natural source of DNA damage. Thus, the authors treated vegetative cells of Schizosaccharomyces pombe with hydrogen peroxide to test if sexual reproduction increases. Among untreated stationary-phase S. pombe populations the sexual spores produced by meiosis represented about 1% of the total cells. However, treatment of late-exponential-phase vegetative cells with hydrogen peroxide increased the percentage of meiotic spores in the stationary phase by 4- to 18-fold. Oxidative damage therefore induces sexual reproduction in a facultatively sexual organism, a result expected by the hypothesis that sex promotes DNA repair.

• OSTI ID: 6991610
• Journal Information: Journal of Bacteriology; (USA), Journal Name: Journal of Bacteriology; (USA) Vol. 171:4; ISSN JOBAA; ISSN 0021-9193
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

560300* -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
BIOLOGICAL RECOVERY
BIOLOGICAL REPAIR
CELL DIVISION
DNA REPAIR
EUMYCOTA
FUNGI
GENE RECOMBINATION
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROGEN PEROXIDE
MEIOSIS
MICROORGANISMS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PEROXIDES
PLANTS
RECOVERY
REPAIR
REPRODUCTION
SACCHAROMYCES
SPORES
TOXICITY
YEASTS