friedreichs ataxia (frda) is an autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disorder caused by decreased expression of the protein frataxin. frataxin deficiency leads to excessive free radical production and dysfunction of chain complexes. mitochondrial dna (mtdna) could be considered a candidate modifier factor for frda disease, since mitochondrial oxidative stress is thought to be involved in the p...

Many kinds of mutations in mitochondrial (mt) DNA have been reported to be related to the development of Diabetes Mellitus (DM), this type of diabetes has also been shown to be influenced by other genetic factors and/or environmental factors. Among them, tRNALeu(UUR) and its adjacent mtDNA NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1(ND1) region within the mt genome are linked to high susceptibility to DM. A p...

the mitochondrial dna (mtdna) mutations in mitochondrial coding and non coding regions seem to be important in carcinogenesis. the aim of this investigation was to evaluate coding region (mt-trnaphe and trnapro) and non-coding sequence, mitochondrial displacement loop (mtdna d-loop), in the cancerous and non-cancerous lesions of iranian patients with breast cancer (bc). genomic dna was extracte...

DNA topoisomerases contribute to various cellular activities that involve DNA. We previously identified a human nuclear gene that encodes a mitochondrial DNA topoisomerase. Here we show that genes for mitochondrial DNA topoisomerases (type IB) exist only in vertebrates. A 13-exon topoisomerase motif was identified as a characteristic of genes for both nuclear and mitochondrial type IB topoisome...

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In contrast to extensive infiltration of plant nuclear genomes by mitochondrial and chloroplast DNA fragments, a computer assessment method could only detect seven mitochondrial DNA integration events in Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromosomes and five examples of DNA migration into mammalian nuclear genes. No evidence could be detected for mitochondrial DNA insertion into chromosome III of Caenor...

The accessory subunit of mitochondrial DNA polymerase gamma, POLGbeta, functions as a processivity factor in vitro. Here we show POLGbeta has additional roles in mitochondrial DNA metabolism. Mitochondrial DNA is arranged in nucleoprotein complexes, or nucleoids, which often contain multiple copies of the mitochondrial genome. Gene-silencing of POLGbeta increased nucleoid numbers, whereas over-...

in many models of programmed cell death, the mitochondrial protein aif translocates to the nucleus, where it induces the chromatin condensation and dna degradation. however, today it is well established that this flavoprotein is bifunctional. in addition to its lethal function in the nucleus of dying cells, aif plays a vital bioenergetic role in healthy ones by regulating mainly the activity of...