Kinetic complexity of chloroplastal deoxyribonucleic acid and mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid from higher plants

Abstract

1. Chloroplasts and mitochondria were isolated by aqueous and non-aqueous cell-fractionation techniques. In a variety of higher plants the mitochondrial DNA bands in a caesium chloride gradient at 1·706g.cm.−3, whereas chloroplastal DNA has a buoyant density of 1·697g.cm.−3. 2. In total cellular DNA of moderate molecular weight, the chloroplastal DNA is found within the Gaussian distribution of the nuclear DNA and is not resolved as a satellite. 3. Both chloroplastal DNA and mitochondrial DNA from lettuce renature rapidly. 4. The kinetic complexity of mitochondrial DNA is > 108 daltons. 5. Chloroplastal DNA is made up from fast and slow renaturing sequences with kinetic complexities of 3×106 and 1·2×108 daltons respectively. 6. From the discrepancy between analytical and kinetic complexity it is concluded that chloroplastal DNA is extensively reiterated.