Amphotericin B resistance is recessive in Chinese hamster hybrid cells

Previous studies from our laboratory have shown that Chinese hamster V79 cells mutated to high level resistance to amphotericin B have a lower cellular level of cholesterol, the target molecule for the polyene antibiotic. Two amphotericin B-resistant (AMBR) mutants were each hybridized to their parental amphotericin B-sensitive (AMBS) V79 cells. All the hybrids derived from AMBR/AMBS fusions were as sensitive to polyene antibiotics (amphotericin B, filipin, and pimaricin) as AMBS cells or AMBS/AMBS hybrids. The AMBR/AMBS hybrids were found to contain cholesterol per phospholipids that is comparable to those in AMBS or AMBS/AMBS. The analysis of hybrids formed between mutant and wild-type cells thus indicated that resistance to amphotericin B is a recessive marker, and that the cellular level of cholesterol is compensated in the AMBS/AMBR hybrids. Hybrids of AMBR and AMBR cells were all resistant, so that the three AMBR mutants all fell into a single complementation group.