title: t-Loops in yeast mitochondria.
abstract: Mitochondria of several yeast species contain a linear DNA genome possessing specific terminal DNA structures dubbed mitochondrial telomeres. Several tandemly repeated units and a 5' single-stranded extension characterize mitochondrial telomeres in Candida parapsilosis, Pichia philodendra and Candida salmanticensis. Resemblance of this type of mitochondrial telomeres to typical nuclear telomeres suggests that they might form t-loop structures. Therefore we adopted a protocol for stabilization of potential t-loops in the mtDNA of C. parapsilosis and observed several loops at the ends of the mtDNA. A potential role of t-loops in protection of the ends of mtDNA and/or in mitochondrial telomere dynamics is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Comenius University, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Mlynska dolina B-1, 842 15 Bratislava, Slovakia. tomaska@fns.uniba.sk
authors.forename: Lubomir
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tomaska
authors.forename: Alexander M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Makhov
authors.forename: Jack D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Griffith
authors.forename: Jozef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nosek