Nonsense mutations in the ade3 locus of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Fifty seven mutations at the ade3 locus have been crossed to ochre, amber and ochre-amber suppressors. 70% (39/56) of the mutations at this locus are nonsense mutations; 61% (34/56) are ochre mutations and 9% (5/56) are amber mutations. The frequency of nonsense mutations among ade3 alleles recovered is very high and raises the interesting possibility that only polar mutations at this locus are recovered. An hypothesis to explain these genetical findings as well as physiological properties of these mutations is proposed.