Summary
Certain physicochemical properties of rice mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) were determined. Certain low-molecular-weight mtDNA bands were found in addition to the major mtDNA band. Rice mtDNA appeared in the electron microscope as a collection of linear molecules with heterogeneous length in the range of 1–156 kb. The major distribution area was 60–105 kb. A small fraction (less than 5%) of rice mtDNA was found in the form of a circular molecule. Some molecules had the appearance of being supercoiled. Replication fork structures were found in both circular and linear mtDNA molecules. In one rice species, Jin Nante, 15 different circular molecules were found. Rice mtDNA was digested with different restriction enzymes. The total molecular weight of rice mtDNA was calculated to be about 300 kb according to the data of restriction enzyme digestion and electron microscopy.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bailey-Serres J, Leroy P, Jones SS, Wahleithner JA, Wolstenholme DR (1987) Size distributions of circular molecules in plant mitochondrial DNAs. Curr Genet 12:49–53
Boutry M, Briquet M (1982) Mitochondrial modifications associated with the cytoplasmic male sterility in faba beans. Eur J Biochem 127:129–135
Chase CD, Pring DR (1985) Circular plasmid DNAs from mitochondria of sorghum bicolor. Plant Mol Biol 5:303–311
Chase CD, Pring DR (1986) Properties of the linear N1 and N2 plasmid-like DNAs from mitochondria of cytoplasmic malesterile Sorghum bicolor. Plant Mol Biol 6:53–64
Dixon LK, Leaver CJ (1982) Mitochondrial gene expression and cytoplasmic male sterility in sorghum. Plant Mol Biol 1:89–102
Evans IH (1983) Molecular genetic aspects of yeast mitochondria. In: Spencer JEF, Spencer DM, Smith ARW (eds) Yeast genetics. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 269–370 (Springer Series Molecular Biology)
Goddard JM, Cummings DJ (1975) Structure and replication of mitochondrial DNA from Paramecium aurelia. J Mol Biol 97:593–609
Grierson D, Covey SN (1984) Mitochondrial DNA organization and function. In: Grierson D, Covey SN (eds) Plant molecular biology. Blackie, London, pp 75–87
Handa H, Tsunewaki K, Kunisada T, Yamaguchi H (1984) Small circular DNA molecules in wheat mitochondria. Mol Gen Genet 194:368–372
Kemble RL, Bedbrook JR (1980) Low molecular weight circular and linear DNA in mitochondria from normal and malesterile Zea mays cytoplasm. Nature 284:565–566
Kim BD, Lee KJ, DeBusk AG (1982) Linear and ‘lasso-like’ structures of mitochondrial DNA from Pennisetum typhoides. FEBS Lett 147:231–234
Kleinschmidt AK (1968) Monolayer techniques in electron microscopy of nucleic acid molecules. Methods Enzymol 12:361–377
Leroy P, Bazetoux S, Quetier F, Delbut J, Berville A (1985) A comparison between mitochondrial DNA of an isogenic male-sterile (S) and male-fertile (F) couple (HA89) of sunflower. Curr Genet 9:245–251
Levings CC III (1983) The plant mitochondrial genome and its mutants. Cell 32:659–611
Lonsdale DM, Hodge TP, Fauron CMR (1984) The physical map and organization of the mitochondrial genome from the fertile cytoplasm of maize. Nucleic Acids Res 12:9249–9261
Mignouna H, Virmani SS, Briquet M (1987) Mitochondrial DNA modification associated with cytoplasmic male sterility in rice. Theor Appl Genet 74:666–669
Negruk VI, Cherny DI, Nikiforova ID, Aleksandrov AA, Butenko RG (1982) Isolation and characterization of minicircular DNAs found in mitochondrial fraction of Vicia faba. FEBS Lett 142:115–117
Palmer JD, Shields CR (1984) Tripartite structure of the Brassica campestris mitochondrial genome. Nature 307:437–440
Palmer JD, Shields CR, Cohen DB, Orton TJ (1983) An unusual mitochondrial DNA plasmid in the genus Brassica. Nature 301:725–728
Powling A (1981) Species of small DNA molecules found in mitochondria from sugarbeet with normal and male sterile cytoplasms. Mol Gen Genet 183:82–84
Pring DR, Conde MF, Schertz KF, Levings CS III (1982) Plasmid-like DNAs associated with mitochondria of cytoplasmic male-sterile Sorghum. Mol Gen Genet 186:180–184
Schardl CL, Pring DR, Lonsdale DM (1985) Mitochondrial DNA rearrangements associated with fertile revertants of S-type male-sterile maize. Cell 43:361–368
Sederoff RR (1984) Structural variation in mitochondrial DNA. Adv Genet 22:1–108
Weissinger AK, Timothy DH, Levings CS III, Hu WWL, Goodman MM (1982) Unique plasmid-like mitochondrial DNAs from indigenous maize races of Latin America. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 79:1–5
Yamaguchi H, Kakiuchi H (1983) Electrophoretic analysis of mitochondrial DNA from normal and male sterile cytoplasms in rice. Jpn J Genet 58:607–611
Yamaguchi H, Sakamoto W, Tsutsumi N (1986) Cloning of mitochondrial DNA genome in rice. Rice Genet Newslett 3:120–121
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by Hu Han and R. Hagemann
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wang, B., Cheng, W., Li, Y.N. et al. Some physicochemical properties of rice mitochondrial DNA. Theoret. Appl. Genetics 77, 581–586 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00274284
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00274284