Spatial organisation and behaviour of the parental chromosome sets in the nuclei of Saccharomyces cerevisiae x S. paradoxus hybrids

Abstract

We demonstrate the genomes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and S. paradoxus are sufficiently divergent to allow their differential labeling by genomic in situ hybridisation (GISH). The cytological discrimination of the genomes allowed us to study the merging of the two genomes during hybrid mating. GISH revealed that in hybrid nuclei the two genomes are intermixed. In hybrid meiosis, extensive intraspecific nonhomologous pairing takes place. GISH on chromosome addition and substitution strains (with chromosomes of S. paradoxus added to or replacing the homoeologous chromosome of an otherwise S. cerevisiae background) was used to delineate individual chromosomes at interphase and to examine various aspects of chromosome structure and arrangement.