Mitochondrial DNA and the largest nuclear-mitochondrial DNA in Arabidopsis can be separated by their methylation levels.

ABSTRACT: Methylation of cytosines in plant mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been a controversial issue. Results supporting mtDNA methylation may have been subject to contamination due to the presence of nuclear sequences originating from the mitochondrial genome called nuclear mitochondrial insertions (NUMT). In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) Columbia 0 (Col-0), the largest NUMT, located on Chromosome 2, is nearly twice the size of the entire mitochondrial genome and exhibits a sequence almost identical to the mitochondrial genome, albeit with shuffling and repeats. In the presence of such high similarity, it is challenging to eliminate interference when determining mtDNA methylation levels. Here, we applied a methyl-CpG-binding domain (MBD) protein-based affinity assay to separate total DNA, appl

SUBMITTER: Zhong Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11879424 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature