Spore killer-3 (Sk-3) is a genetic element transmitted to offspring through spore killing in the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa. Sk-3 requires two genes for spore killing. These two genes are th..
Spore killer-3 (Sk-3) is a genetic element transmitted to offspring through spore killing in the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa. Sk-3 requires two genes for spore killing. These two genes are the poison gene, for killing, and the antidote gene, for resistance to killing. While the resistance gene has been identified, the killer gene has not. The goal of this study was to determine if a DNA interval, referred to as v382, contains the killer gene. Interval v382 was deleted from an N. crassa strain and the deletion strain was tested for spore killing. The spore-killing phenomenon in N. crassa allows genetic conflict, evolutionary biology, and environments pertaining to agriculture to be understood. Spore killing takes place within spore sacs, which can be dissected from fruiting bodies and imaged under a microscope. Spore sacs that have undergone spore killing contain four black, viable spores and four white spores, the latter of which are inviable. An image of spore sacs that were dissected from a v382 deletion strain is shown.