Generating primitive positive clones

Suppose is a set of operations on a finite set A. Define PPC() to be the smallest primitive positive clone on A containing . For any finite algebra A, let PPC#(A) be the smallest number n for which PPC(CloA) = PPC(Clo _n A). S. Burris and R. Willard 2] conjectured that PPC#(A) ≤|A| when CloA is a primitive positive clone and |A| > 2. In this paper, we look at how large PPC#(A) can be when special conditions are placed on the finite algebra A. We show that PPC#(A) ≤|A| holds when the variety generated by A is congruence distributive, Abelian, or decidable. We also show that PPC#(A) ≤|A| + 2 if A generates a congruence permutable variety and every subalgebra of A is the product of a congruence neutral algebra and an Abelian algebra. Furthermore, we give an example in which PPC#(A) ≥|A| - 1)² so that these results are not vacuous. Received August 30, 1999; accepted in final form April 4, 2000.