In vitro translation products of Drosophila mitochondria are contaminated with newly synthesized bacterial proteins.
A previous study reported in this journal suggested that in vitro synthesis of Drosophila mitochondrial polypeptides could be performed provided certain bacterial growth inhibitors were employed in the medium (Alziari, S., Stepien, G., and Durand, R. (1981) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 99, 1-8). We report here that despite the absence of microbial proliferation, bacteria isolated from adult Drosophila synthesize a significant number of proteins in such a medium. Thus, considerable caution must be exercised in the interpretation of studies utilizing this medium which claim to provide data on the translation products of isolated mitochondria from adult insects.
D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D003470:Culture Media; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology*; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D003470:Culture Media