Remarkably high rate of DNA amplification promoted by the mating-type switching mechanism in Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Abstract

A novel mating-type switching-defective mutant showed a highly unstable rearrangement at the mating-type locus (mat1) in fission yeast. The mutation resulted from local amplification of a 134-bp DNA fragment by the mat1-switching phenomenon. We speculate that the rolling-circle-like replication and homologous recombination might be the general mechanisms for local genome region expansion. © 2012 by the Genetics Society of America.