Open AccessNuclear extrachromosomal DNA of higher plants.
Author(s) -
Jerzy Buchowicz
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
acta biochimica polonica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.452
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1734-154X
pISSN - 0001-527X
DOI - 10.18388/abp.1997_4435
Subject(s) - extrachromosomal dna , minichromosome , biology , fragmentation (computing) , dna , nuclear dna , gene , genetics , nuclear gene , genome , microbiology and biotechnology , mitochondrial dna , ecology
Recent reports indicate that minichromosomes and other small genetic entities may occur in the nuclei of uninfected higher plants. They become especially abundant under some special growth conditions and, sometimes, resemble extrachromosomal genes of ciliated protozoa. An example of such gene-sized DNA species was isolated from resting wheat embryos. The presence of telomeric sequences at its termini and the ability to replicate autonomously in wheat nuclei made it possible to distinguish this nuclear minichromosome from chromosomal DNA fragmentation products. The biological significance of plant minichromosomes remains to be elucidated.