Detrimental effect of mitochondria on hybrid cell survival.

A genetic technique has been developed for isolating nuclear hybrids which are products of fusion between karyoplasts and whole cells. Nuclear hybrids have greatly reduced mitochondrial component obtained from the nuclear donor and exhibit differences when compared to the corresponding whole-cell hybrids, such as better long-term survival and accelerated chromosome segregation. These results suggest that divergent mitochondria in a cell-fusion product may have adverse effects on survival.