The iso1 gene of Chlamydomonas is involved in sex determination

Sexual differentiation in the heterothallic alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is controlled by two mating-type loci, mt⁺ and mt^- which behave as a pair of alleles but contain different DNA sequences. A mutation in the mt minus- linked imp11 gene has been shown previously to convert a minus gamete into a pseudo-plus gamete that expresses all the plus gametic traits except the few encoded by the mt⁺ locus. Here we describe the iso1 mutation which is unlinked to the mt^- locus but is expressed only in minus gametes (sex- limited expression). A population of minus gametes carrying the iso1 mutation behaves as a mixture of minus and pseudo-plus gametes: the gametes isoagglutinate but they do not fuse to form zygotes. Further analysis reveals that individual gametes express either plus or minus traits: a given cell displays one type of agglutinin (flagellar glycoprotein used for sexual adhesion) and one type of mating structure. The iso1 mutation identifies a gene unlinked to the mating-type locus that is involved in sex determination and the repression of plus-specific genes.