Patterns of mitochondrial sorting in yeast zygotes.

Inheritance of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is usually biparental. Pedigree studies of zygotic first buds indicate limited mixing of wild-type (p+) parental mtDNAs: end buds are frequently homoplasmic for one parental mtDNA, while heteroplasmic and recombinant progeny usually arise from medial buds. In crosses involving certain petites, however, mitochondrial inheritance can be uniparental. In this study we show that mitochondrial sorting can be influenced by the parental mtDNAs and have identified intermediates in the process. In crosses where mtDNA mixing is limited and one parent is prelabeled with the matrix enzyme citrate synthase 1 (CS1), the protein freely equilibrates throughout the zygote before the first bud has matured. Furthermore, if one parent is p0 (lacking mtDNA), mtDNA from the p+ parent can also equilibrate; intracellular movement of mtDNA is unhindered in this case. Surprisingly, in zygotes from a p0 CS1+ x p+ CS1- cross, CS1 is quantitatively translocated to the p+ end of the zygote before mtDNA movement; subsequently, both components equilibrate throughout the cell. This initial vectorial transfer does not require respiratory function in the p+ parent, although it does not occur if that parent is p-. Mouse dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) present in the mitochondrial matrix can also be vectorially translocated, indicating that the process is general. Our data suggest that in zygotes mtDNA movement may be separately controlled from the movement of bulk matrix constituents.