• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.249-254
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• 1995

When mating type A and a cells of heterobasidiomycetous yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides were mix-cultured, both of the mating type cells have shown strong agglutination. But this agglutination was not detactable when the A and a cell were cultured separately. From reagglutination made just after the result of disassembling the agglutination by sonication, we knew that the agglutination was sexual-agglutination, not simple physical cell agglutination. The sexual agglutination was progressed actively on logarithmic phase and, in addition, progressed faster on mating type a cell treated with rhodotorucine A. These sexual agglutination have been inhibited by several protease such as trypsin, pronase, chymotrpysin and thermolysin and inhibited by 5 mM DTT as well.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.100-121
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• 2017

The sexual reproduction of the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas is reviewed for a comprehensive understanding of the complex processes. The sexual life cycle of C. reinhardtii is distinguished into five main stages: gametogenesis, gamete activation, cell fusion, zygote maturation, and meiosis and germination. Gametogenesis is induced by nitrogen starvation in the environment. C. reinhardtii has two mating types: mating type plus ($mt^+$) and mating type minus ($mt^-$), controlled by a single complex mating type locus ($MT^+$ or $MT^-$) on linkage group VI. In the early gametogenesis agglutinins are synthesized. The $mt^+$ and $mt^-$ agglutinins are encoded by the autosomal genes SAG1 (Sexual AGglutination1) and SAD1 (Sexual ADhesion1), respectively. The agglutinins are responsible for the flagellar adhesion of the two mating type of gametes. The flagellar adhesion initiates a cAMP mediated signal transduction pathways and activates the flagellar tips. In response to the cAMP signal, mating structures between two flagella are activated. The $mt^+$ and $mt^-$ gamete-specific fusion proteins, Fus1 and Hap2/Gcs1, are present on the plasma membrane of the two mating structures. Contact of the two mating structures leads to develop a fertilization tubule forming a cytoplasmic bridge between the two gametes. Upon fusion of nuclei and chloroplasts of $mt^+$ and $mt^-$ cells, the zygotes become zygospores. It is notable that the young zygote shows uniparental inheritance of chloroplast DNA from the $mt^+$ parent and mitochondrial DNA from the $mt^-$ parent. Under the favorable conditions, the zygospores divide meiotically and germinate and then new haploid progenies, vegetative cells, are released.