VARIABILITY IN THE TIMING AND OUTCOME OF MACRONUCLEAR ASSORTMENT IN TETRAHYMENA-THERMOPHILA

New experimental designs have detected unexpectedly large variations in the time at which macronuclear assortment begins, and in the ratios of the stabilized products. Variation is detected between strains, and, within strains, between conjugating pairs. The Chx locus gave results ranging from late assortment (40–60 fissions) to early assortment with skewed input, indicating the existence of some relation between the parameters of input ratio and time of determination. © 1979, Cambridge University Press. All rights reserved.