Identification of an endogenous plasmid in Dictyostelium discoideum

A plasmid has been discovered in a strain of the eukaryote, Dictyostelium discoideum, which has an unstable, non-chromosomal, cobalt resistance phenotype. The plasmid, termed Ddp1, is 13.5 kbp in size and is found in the nucleus. It has an A-T content typical of Dictyostelium DNA as judged by its restriction enzyme digestion pattern, and it is not related to either mitochondrial or ribosomal DNA. Similar or identical plasmids have been found in two original, cobalt-sensitive, isolates, NC4 and V12, but no plasmid was detected in three other isolates (WS472, WS526, WS584). The plasmid codes for non-essential functions since it is absent from the latter isolates, and it is lost from mutant strains which are capable of axenic growth.