A visual indicator of heterokaryosis in Fusarium oxysporum from celery

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  • JPJohn E. Puhalla
    John E. Puhalla
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Abstract
Wild-type isolates of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. apii (celery pathogens) were white or pale pink. Ultraviolet-light (UV) treatment of conidia, however, yielded stable orange mutants, which in turn gave rise to yellow and white mutants after a second UV treatment. Some pairings between these yellow and white mutants developed an orange line where they touched. This orange line developed only if the two mutants formed heterokaryons with each other. In contrast, attempts to demonstrate heterokaryons between complementary auxotrophic mutants on minimal medium failed. The color heterokaryon was a mosaic of homokaryotic and heterokaryotic cells, the latter being confined to the area of anastomosis between the two mutants. Genetic complementation was also confined to this area. In pairings among color mutants of five wild-type strains two vegetative (heterokaryon) compatibility (VC) groups were defined. VC groups in other formae spéciales of F. oxysporum should also be detectable by this method.