Individual perithecia from selfings of most
Ceratocystis species produce both self-fertile and self-sterile progeny, apparently due to uni-directional mating-type switching. In
C. coerulescens, male-only mutants of otherwise hermaphroditic and self-fertile strains were self-sterile and were used in crossings to demonstrate
that this species has two mating-types. Only
MAT-2 strains are capable of selfing, and half of the progeny from a
MAT-2 selfing are
MAT-1. Male-only,
MAT-2 mutants are self-sterile and cross only with
MAT-1 strains. Similarly, self-fertile strains generally cross with only
MAT-1 strains.
MAT-1 strains only cross with
MAT-2 strains and never self. It is hypothesized that the switch in mating-type during selfing is associated with a deletion of
the
MAT-2 gene.
Key words Homothallism - Mating-type switching - Hermaphroditism - Ceratocystis
Received: 6 July 1996 / 25 March 1997