The effect of growth regimen, heat shock and intracellular starch storage on the mating efficiency of chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Abstract

The mating efficiency of the non-photosynthetic mutants of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii used in this study is low when gametogenesis is carried out using standard procedures. Alternative procedures were developed to increase mating efficiency of these strains. Gametogenesis of mutant strains is most efficient when vegetative cells are grown on TMAC-N plates for 48-72 h and then in TMAC-1 liquid overnight. One mutant which does not form gametes efficiently under this regimen can be induced to form gametes by exposure to heat-shock at 42-5 or 45°C. The mating efficiencies of starch-storing and starch-negative non-photosynthetic mutant strains were compared. The results show that the ability to store starch intracellularly does not dramatically influence the mating efficiency of the nonphotosynthetic mutant strains. © 1992 The British Phycological Society.