Читать книгу Algorithms in Bioinformatics - Paul A. Gagniuc - Страница 68

Kinetoplasts are networks of circular DNA molecules (kDNA), found in the mitochondria of kinetoplastids (unicellular eukaryotic organisms capable of self-propulsion) [199]. The mitochondrial genome (kinetoplast) of these flagellated protozoans is considered of the highest complexity encountered among all known organelles. The kinetoplast is physically connected to the flagellar basal bodies of these organisms [200]. The kDNA isolated for electron microscopy may span on a 2D grid of 10 by 15 μm [201]. Depending on the species, the kDNA network can exist in many configurations. kDNA is composed of two types of linked DNA rings. Variations include 5000 up to 10 000 minicircles and 25–50 maxicircles. The minicircles are approximately 0.5–10 kb in size and the maxicircles range from 20 to 40 kb [201]. kDNA represents approximately 30% of the total DNA of these protists. It is worth mentioning here that studies done on kinetoplastids have helped our understanding of the RNA-editing mechanisms [202, 203].