Genetics of Ustilago violacea. XVII. Chromosome Transfer as a Source of Recombinant Sporidia Recovered from Immature Infected Anthers

Macerated or teased immature anthers of Silene alba, inoculated as seedlings with haploid a1 and a2 sporidia of Ustilago violacea, yielded sporidial colonies on complex and minimal media. The recovered sporidia had parental genotypes and recombinant genotypes for recessive color, morphology, and auxotrophic mutations in the parental strains. This observation was explained by proposing aneuploid sporidial buds from dikaryotic cells multiplying on the nutrient medium. Aneuploid sporidial buds presumably originated from chromosome transfer during the division of haploid nuclic in the dikaryons on medium. Diploid sporidial colonies were recovered from macerated immature anthers of plants inoculated as seedlings with diploid (a1/a2) solopathogenic sporidia and presumably originated from monokaryotic hyphal cells with a diploid nucleus.