Isolation and characterization of Metolachlor-resistant mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The herbicide Metolachlor (alpha-chloroacetamide group) inhibits the growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae on complete, minimal, and non-fermentative med ia. Spontaneous and induced resistant mutants showed monogenic segregation patterns. Among the resistant clones, 70% were recessives, 16.4% were parti ally dominants and 13.4% were dominants. The spontaneous partially dominant mutation Mtc1 was mapped on linkage group XV at 33.3 cM from ade2 and 31.7 cM from his3, in a region that is characterized by the presence of several resistant genes. The recessive mutation mtc2 was located on chromosome IV. Although all the mutants had the ability to grow in the presence of the he rbicide, they remained affected in their respiration efficiency, indicating two different mechanism of action of Metholachor on yeast cells.