Structure of animal mitochondrial DNA (base composition, pyrimidine clusters, character of methylation)

Base composition, content of pyrimidine isopliths and methylation degree of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and nuclear DNA (nDNA) from various vertebrates and protozoon Crithidia oncopelti have been studied. mtDNAs from mammals (ox, rat) do not differ in fact in the G + C content from the respective nDNA. The G + C content in mtDNA from fishes (sheat-fish) and birds (duck, chicken) is 1.5--2.5 mol % higher than in the respective nDNA. Kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) from Crithidia oncopelti (G + C = 42.9 mol %) differs significantly in base composition from nDNA (G + C 51.3 mol%). All the mtDNA and kDNA studied differ from the respective nDNA by a lower degree of pyrimidine clustering. The amount of mono- and dipyrimidine fragments in mtDNA is more than 30 mol %, whereas in nDNA it does not exceed 23 mol %. The quantity of long pyrimidine clusters (hexa- and others) is 2--4 times lower in mtDNA than in nDNA. The lower degree of clustering of pyrimidine nucleotides seems to be a specific feature of all the mtDNA studied. This may be indicative of common traits in the organization and origin of mtDNA. All mtDNA of vertebrates contain 5-methylcytosine as "minor" base (1.5--3.15 mol %) and surpass by 1.5--2 times the respective nDNA in the methylation degree. It has been found that in animals mtDNA is species specific as far as the 5-methylcytosine content is concerned. mtDNA of beef heart differs significantly from nDNA in the mode of 5-methylcytosine distribution in pyrimidine isopliths, which may indicate that methylation specificity of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA is not the same. In mitochondria and nuclei of rat liver certain DNA-methylase activity has been detected, which provides in vitro the methylation of cytosine residues both in homologbous DNA and various heterologous DNAs. Specificity of methylation in vitro of cytosine residues in one and the same heterologous DNA from Escherichia coli B with nuclear and mitochondrial enzymes is different. Mitochondrial enzyme methylates cytosine residues chiefly in mono-, whereas nuclear enzyme, in di- and tripyrimidine fragments.