Hybridization frequencies of Chinese hamster and mouse fibroblasts fused with polyethylene glycol at different cell densities

Centrosome competition: a possibility?

A recent theory on the evolution of sexuality, has hypothesized heritable variation in the functional properties of centrosomes, leading to competition for the organization of the mitotic spindle when different centrosomes enter a common cytoplasm. We present here data on polyethylene glycol-induced polykaryocytes of cultured Chinese hamster fibroblasts indirectly supporting centrosome competition. On the assumption that sib centrosomes are similar and variation increases with cell generations, the frequencies of multipolar mitoses were compared in cultures fused under conditions favoring sib cell fusion or fusion of distantly related cells. Multipolar mitoses were considerably more frequent in the former, when the average difference between pairs of centrosomes was assumed to be too small for one centrosome to "outcompete" the other.

Selection of triparental somatic hybrids between mouse and Chinese hamster cell lines

Triparental crosses were carried out between Chinese hamster and mouse cell lines, by using combinations of recessive and dominant markers. Evidence is provided that triparental somatic hybrids arose at relatively high frequencies in triselective media, after fusing with polyethylene glycol mixtures of three cell types carrying the appropriate resistance markers. The Karyotypes of these hybrids were consistent with their triparental origin. Since triparental chromosome complements were observed also in some of the cells selected for two markers only, the possibility is discussed that nuclear multiplicities higher than two in fused cells may favor, rather than hinder, viable hybrid formation.