Mitotic chromosome transmission fidelity mutants in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

We have isolated 136 independent mutations in haploid yeast strains that exhibit decreased chromosome transmission fidelity in mitosis. Eighty-five percent of the mutations are recessive and 15% are partially dominant. Complementation analysis between MATa and MAT alpha isolates identifies 11 chromosome transmission fidelity (CTF) complementation groups, the largest of which is identical to CHL1. For 49 independent mutations, no corresponding allele has been recovered in the opposite mating type. The initial screen monitored the stability of a centromere-linked color marker on a nonessential yeast chromosome fragment; the mitotic inheritance of natural yeast chromosome III is also affected by the ctf mutations. Of the 136 isolates identified, seven were inviable at 37 degrees and five were inviable at 11 degrees. In all cases tested, these temperature conditional lethalities cosegregated with the chromosome instability phenotype. Five additional complementation groups (ctf12 through ctf16) have been defined by complementation analysis of the mutations causing inviability at 37 degrees. Twenty-three of the 136 isolates exhibited growth defects at concentrations of benomyl permissive for the parent strain, and nine appeared to be tolerant of inhibitory levels of benomyl. All of the mutant strains showed normal sensitivity to ultraviolet and gamma-irradiation. Further characterization of these mutant strains will describe the functions of gene products crucial to the successful execution of processes required for aspects of the chromosome cycle that are important for chromosome transmission fidelity in mitosis.