Genetic Studies of the Pyridoxine Mutant in Variety Two of Tetrahymena pyriformis *

Abstract

When two strains cf T. pyriformis that do not require exogenous pyridoxine are crossed, all progeny grow without the vitamin. Offspring from crosses of two pyridoxine requiring clones require pyridoxine with the exception of a few which will grow without pyridoxine. The ratio is approximately 3:1 favoring the pyridoxine requiring category. In matings involving the homozygous dominant pyridoxine requiring clones with the double recessive mutant, that is +/+ X p/p, all of the resulting progeny need pyridoxine. Test crossing these heterozygotes (+/p) with the parental pyridoxine non-requiring clones (p/p) gives offspring approximating a 1:1 ratio. Matings between two heterozygotes derived from breeding experiments also yield progeny in approximately 3 pyridoxine requiring: 1 pyridoxine non-requiring. All data indicate selection for the heterozygote in the population and a possible selection against either homozygote. The great abundance of heterozygotes and rarity of recessive homozygotes in natural habitats corroborates these findings. The genetic evidence supports a single gene hypothesis although the possibility of multiple closely linked genes cannot be ignored. There is also the possibility that a dominant suppressor gene may function in blocking the activity of the pyridoxine mutant genes. Moreover, if this gene exists it may be incompletely dominant since the heterozygote grows slightly on deficient media.