title: Heteroplasmy in mice with deletion of a large coding region of mitochondrial DNA.
abstract: Polymorphism of animal mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been shown to involve point mutations and limited length variations affecting essentially noncoding regions. In two wild mice of the European subspecies Mus mus musculus we found a mitochondrial mutant with a very large deletion in a coding region. The deletion is 5 kbp long (31% of the mitochondrial chromosome) and encompasses six tRNA genes and seven protein genes. The two mice were heteroplasmic: they contained a mixture of normal mtDNA and the deletion mutant. Although the latter is functionally defective, it represents 78%-79% of the mtDNA molecules in our preparations from each animal.
authors.affiliation: Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution, Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Boursot
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yonekawa
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bonhomme
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002872:Chromosome Deletion; D004262:DNA Restriction Enzymes; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D051379:Mice / Q000235:genetics*; D008970:Molecular Weight
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D004262:DNA Restriction Enzymes