The mitotic stability of deletion derivatives of chromosome III in yeast.

We have constructed a series of deletion derivatives of chromosome III in yeast. Two telocentric chromosomes, one with a deletion of about 100 kilobases (kb) from the left arm and another with a deletion of about 240 kb from the right arm, are mitotically stable, showing only a 2- to 3-fold decrease in stability compared to a normal chromosome III. Chromosomes as small as 100 kb with deletions on both the left and right arms show only slight decreases in mitotic stability. Slight decreases in size in chromosomes smaller than 100 kb produce dramatic decreases in mitotic stability. In general, deletion chromosomes of similar size but different structure display similar stabilities. We find no evidence for the existence of any new cis-acting elements [besides the centromere, autonomously replicating sequences (ARS elements) and telomeres] essential for the stabilization of chromosome III.