Induction and reversion of asparagine auxotrophs in CHO-K1 and V79 cells

Two asparagine-dependent clones (2002-103 and 2002-109) were obtained from CHO-K1 cells by treatment with EMS followed by a BrdU-black light selection procedure; an additional ASP- clone (2293-343) was isolated similarly from V79-56 cells. All three clones show a low rate of spontaneous reversion which is increased somewhat by exposure to EMS. Two of the variant clones (2002-103 and 2002-109) are converted in high frequency to asparagine independence by treatment with 5-azacytidine, while 2293-343 cells show no significant induction after similar exposure. All three ASP- clones were found by hybrid analyses to belong to the same complementation group. Treatment of hybrids constructed between 2002-103 or 2002-109 X 2293-343 with 5-azacytidine resulted in high-frequency induction of asparagine independence. Thus, the potential for response to 5-azacytidine in such hybrids by reversion to asparagine independence is dominant or codominant, with no suppressor effect in hybrids from the nonresponsive parent line.