Article
Article
Fungal genetics
Article By:
Griffiths, A. J. F. Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Ullrich, Robert C. Department of Botany, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont.
Last reviewed:January 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.275750
The study of gene structure and function in fungi. Genetic research has provided important knowledge about genes, heredity, genetic mechanisms, metabolism, physiology, and development in fungi, and in higher organisms in general, because in certain respects the fungal life cycle and cellular attributes are ideally suited to both mendelian and molecular genetic analysis. Fungal nuclei are predominantly haploid; that is, they contain only one set of chromosomes. This characteristic is useful in the study of mutations, which are usually recessive and therefore masked in diploid organisms. Mutational dissection is an important technique for the study of biological processes, and the use of haploid organisms conveniently allows for the immediate expression of mutant genes. See also: Fungi; Genetics; Mutation
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