Theoretical analysis of the effects of mitotic crossover in large yeast populations.

ABSTRACT

In a diploid yeast population which is heterozygous for a given marker, A1A2, mitotic crossover (mit. c.o.) between the centromere and the marker will give rise to homozygous daughter cells, A1A1 and A2A2. Since this causes a decrease in the frequency of A1A2 cells, mit. c.o. is an important population genetic process in vegetatively propagated yeast cultures. The effect of mit. c.o. is counteracted by mutations and, in the case of heterosis, by selection. We present a mathematical analysis of these interactions.