Mitochondrial chromosome structure: an insight from analysis of complete yeast genomes

Recent progress in the analysis of protein components of the mitochondrial nucleoid and replisome of baker's yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, opens a unique opportunity for understanding the molecular principles of mitochondrial inheritance. In this work we identified homologs of proteins involved in the mitochondrial DNA packaging and replication in the complete genome sequence of the petite-negative yeast Kluyveromyces lactis. Comparative analysis of their counterparts from phylogenetically diverse yeast species revealed conserved as well as diverged features of the organellar chromosome structure and its replication strategy. Moreover, it provides a basis for subsequent functional studies of the structure and dynamics of the mitochondrial nucleoids.