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PMID: 7932781 Published · ppublish English Comparative Study Journal Article

Numt, a recent transfer and tandem amplification of mitochondrial DNA to the nuclear genome of the domestic cat.

Journal of molecular evolution ·Vol. 39 ·No. 2 ·1994-08-00 ·Pages 174-90

Lopez JV, Yuhki N, Masuda R, Modi W, O'Brien SJ

Abstract

The mitochondrial DNA of plant and animal cells is a transcriptionally active genome that traces its origins to a symbiotic infection of eucaryotic cells by bacterial progenitors. As prescribed by the Serial Endosymbiosis Theory, symbiotic organelles have gradually transferred their genes to the eucaryotic genome, producing a functional interaction of nuclear and mitochondrial genes in organelle function. We report here a recent remarkable transposition of 7.9 kb of a typically 17.0-kb mitochondrial genome to a specific nuclear chromosomal position in the domestic cat. The intergrated segment has subsequently become amplified 38-76 times and now occurs as a tandem repeat macrosatellite with multiple-length alleles resolved by pulse-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) segregating in cat populations. Sequence determination of the nuclear mitochondrial DNA segment, Numt, revealed a d(CA)-rich 8-bp motif [ACACACGT] repeated imperfectly five times at the deletion junction that is a likely target for recombination. The extent and pattern of sequence divergence of Numt genes from the cytoplasmic mtDNA homologues plus the occurrence of Numt in other species of the family Felidae allowed an estimate for the origins of Numt at 1.8-2.0 million years ago in an ancestor of four modern species in the genus Felis. Numt genes do not function in cats; rather, the locus combines properties of nuclear minisatellites and pseudogenes. These observations provide an empirical glimpse of historic genomic events that may parallel the accommodation of organelles in eucaryotes.

MeSH Terms
Animals Base Sequence Cats Cells, Cultured DNA, Complementary DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics Genome Models, Genetic Molecular Sequence Data Polymerase Chain Reaction Pseudogenes Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid Sequence Alignment Symbiosis
Chemicals
DNA, Complementary DNA, Mitochondrial
Authors & Affiliations
5 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Lopez J V
Biological Carcinogenesis and Development Program, Program Resources, Inc./DynCorp, NCI-Frederick Cancer Research and Development Center, MD 21702.
Yuhki N
Masuda R
Modi W
O'Brien S J
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Article Info
Journal
Journal of molecular evolution
Abbr.
J Mol Evol
ISSN
0022-2844
DOI
10.1007/BF00163806
Published
1994-08-00
Pages
174-90
Language
English
Region
Germany
NLM ID
0360051
Subset
IM
Databases
GENBANK
S75063, S75064, S75065, S75066, S75083, S75096, S75098, S75099, S75101, S75317, S75319, S75321, S75323, S75326, S75328, S75329, S75331, S75332
Corrections
ErratumIn
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External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1007/BF00163806 View journal details
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