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Updated: Jun 23, 2025

Author Spotlight: High-Throughput Image-Based Quantification of Mitochondrial DNA Synthesis and Distribution
Published on: May 5, 2023
The initiation of mitochondrial DNA replication
Yi Liu1, Haibin Liu1, Fan Zhang2
1Hubei Jiangxia Laboratory, Wuhan 430200, China.
Abstract:
Mitochondrial DNA replication is initiated by the transcription of mitochondrial RNA polymerase (mtRNAP), as mitochondria lack a dedicated primase. However, the mechanism determining the switch between continuous transcription and premature termination to generate RNA primers for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) replication remains unclear. The pentatricopeptide repeat domain of mtRNAP exhibits exoribonuclease activity, which is required for the initiation of mtDNA replication in Drosophila. In this review, we explain how this exonuclease activity contributes to primer synthesis in strand-coupled mtDNA replication, and discuss how its regulation might co-ordinate mtDNA replication and transcription in both Drosophila and mammals.
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